Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOB) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $24.92 and last traded at $25.51, with a volume of 136609 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.28.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (down from $48.00) on shares of Live Oak Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Live Oak Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Live Oak Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.75.

Live Oak Bancshares Stock Down 1.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.00 and a 200 day moving average of $39.55.

Live Oak Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Live Oak Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Live Oak Bancshares by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,041,706 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,749,000 after purchasing an additional 880,530 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,277,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Live Oak Bancshares by 13.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,109,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $52,553,000 after acquiring an additional 131,343 shares in the last quarter. AmeriServ Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Live Oak Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $4,443,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Live Oak Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $4,056,000. 63.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.