Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, credit card services, and other banking services. This segment also provides securities brokerage services through an arrangement with a third party broker-dealer. The WM&T segment engages in the provision of investment management, financial and retirement planning, and trust and estate services, as well as retirement plan management for businesses and corporations. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

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. The company accepts various deposit products, including noninterest-bearing demand, as well as interest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposits. It also provides commercial and industrial loans; construction and development loans; owner occupied and non-owner occupied collateral commercial real estate loans; and commercial land loans. In addition, the company offers settlement, accounting, and securitization services for government guaranteed loans; financing for renewable energy application industry; strategic wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth individuals and families; and investment advisory services to a series of funds focused on providing venture capital to new and emerging financial technology companies. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Latest Banks and Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. Stock News

As of August 21, 2026, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. had a $2.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $745.4 million. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s stock is up 26.1% in 2026, down 3.7% in the previous five trading days and up 6.17% in the past year.

Currently, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.3. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $418.2 million with a 35.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 19.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.330 per share for the current fiscal year. Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. currently has a 1.6% dividend yield.

As of August 21, 2026, Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. had a $1.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 53rd percentile of all stocks. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.’s stock is up 19.3% in 2026, down 5.3% in the previous five trading days and up 17.15% in the past year.

Currently, Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.3. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $526.4 million with a 26.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.122 per share for the current fiscal year. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. currently has a 0.3% dividend yield.

How We Compare Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	F
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.	LOB	F

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Quality Score of 12, which is Very Weak. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a Quality Score of 12, which is Very Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	C
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.	LOB	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 52, which is Average. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 58, which is Average.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.	SYBT	B
Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.	LOB	C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 70, which is Positive. Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 50, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Live Oak Bancshares, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Growth.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 52, Estimate Revisions Score of 70 and Quality Score of 12.

Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. stock has a Momentum Score of 58, Estimate Revisions Score of 50 and Quality Score of 12.

Comparing Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc., Live Oak Bancshares and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.