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

StockNews.com cut shares of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Monday morning.

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock traded down $0.82 on Monday, hitting $23.17. 701 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,155. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.70 and a 12-month high of $32.24. The company has a market cap of $193.64 million, a P/E ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.36.

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a positive change from Oak Valley Bancorp's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Oak Valley Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

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Insider Activity at Oak Valley Bancorp

In related news, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. bought 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.97 per share, for a total transaction of $155,820.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 147,633 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,834,029.01. The trade was a 4.24 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Strong purchased 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.17 per share, for a total transaction of $27,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,842 shares in the company, valued at $321,747.14. The trade was a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,202 shares of company stock valued at $264,377. Insiders own 19.26% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OVLY. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 190.2% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $163,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.86% of the company's stock.

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.