StockNews.com Downgrades Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Performance

Oak Valley Bancorp stock opened at $27.83 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.73 and its 200-day moving average is $27.42. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.91 and a 1 year high of $32.24. The company has a market cap of $232.66 million, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.33.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a net margin of 28.03% and a return on equity of 14.28%.

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.30 dividend. This is an increase from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Oak Valley Bancorp

In other Oak Valley Bancorp news, Director Gary Strong bought 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.17 per share, for a total transaction of $27,170.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,747.14. The trade was a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. bought 2,393 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $59,825.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 150,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,750,650. The trade was a 1.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,774 shares of company stock valued at $252,527 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OVLY. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $163,000. Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 123.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $295,000. 30.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oak Valley Bancorp Company Profile

Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank that provides a range of commercial banking services to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. The company's deposits products include checking and savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.