I Ran A Stock Scan For Earnings Growth And Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB) Passed With Ease

Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes.

So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Live Oak Bancshares (NASDAQ:LOB). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, unless its owners have an endless appetite for subsidizing the customer, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else breathe its last breath.

View our latest analysis for Live Oak Bancshares

How Fast Is Live Oak Bancshares Growing?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so share price follows earnings per share (EPS) eventually. Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. Over the last three years, Live Oak Bancshares has grown EPS by 11% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. I note that Live Oak Bancshares's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. Live Oak Bancshares maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 73% to US$396m. That's a real positive.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. For finer detail, click on the image.

You don't drive with your eyes on the rear-view mirror, so you might be more interested in this free report showing analyst forecasts for Live Oak Bancshares's future profits.

Are Live Oak Bancshares Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It makes me feel more secure owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, thusly more closely aligning our interests. So it is good to see that Live Oak Bancshares insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. Notably, they have an enormous stake in the company, worth US$872m. That equates to 25% of the company, making insiders powerful and aligned with other shareholders. Very encouraging.

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Live Oak Bancshares with market caps between US$2.0b and US$6.4b is about US$5.2m.

The Live Oak Bancshares CEO received total compensation of just US$822k in the year to . That looks like modest pay to me, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Is Live Oak Bancshares Worth Keeping An Eye On?

As I already mentioned, Live Oak Bancshares is a growing business, which is what I like to see. Earnings growth might be the main game for Live Oak Bancshares, but the fun does not stop there. Boasting both modest CEO pay and considerable insider ownership, I'd argue this one is worthy of the watchlist, at least. We should say that we've discovered 5 warning signs for Live Oak Bancshares (2 can't be ignored!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Although Live Oak Bancshares certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.