Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Shares Down 7.4% – Time to Sell?

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB)’s stock price dropped 7.4% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $43.01 and last traded at $43.18. Approximately 56,770 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 175,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $46.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LOB. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Live Oak Bancshares from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Live Oak Bancshares from $36.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $47.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Live Oak Bancshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Live Oak Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.75.

Live Oak Bancshares Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $45.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.57. The company has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71 and a beta of 1.60.

Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.13. Live Oak Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.93% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $232.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Live Oak Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.03%.

Insider Transactions at Live Oak Bancshares

In related news, CAO John W. Sutherland sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $860,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 26,603 shares in the company, valued at $1,143,929. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 23.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOB. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 8.1% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 49,626 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Live Oak Bancshares by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 95,483 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,523,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 87.5% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.95% of the company’s stock.

About Live Oak Bancshares

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Live Oak Banking Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Banking and Fintech. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits.