Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OVLY opened at $27.83 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.42. Oak Valley Bancorp has a one year low of $22.91 and a one year high of $32.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.33.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last announced its 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 firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insider Transactions at Oak Valley Bancorp

In other news, Director Gary Strong purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $321,747.14. The trade was a 9.22 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. purchased 2,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $59,825.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 150,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,750,650. This trade represents 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 worth $252,527 over the last ninety days. 19.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OVLY. Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $1,726,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 118.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 12,782 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the third quarter worth $327,000. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the third quarter worth $295,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 122.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. 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.