Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Short Interest Update

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 20,400 shares, a decrease of 22.1% from the February 13th total of 26,200 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Performance

Oak Valley Bancorp stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.54. 8,820 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,562. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $32.24. The stock has a market cap of $205.13 million, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.32 and its 200 day moving average is $27.45.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (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 business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase 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%.

Insider Transactions at Oak Valley Bancorp

In other Oak Valley Bancorp news, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. purchased 2,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $59,825.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 150,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,750,650. This represents a 1.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gary Strong bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.17 per share, with a total value of $27,170.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,747.14. This trade represents a 9.22 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 9,924 shares of company stock worth $256,577 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,769,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 155,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 108,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,188,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,726,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Oak Valley Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.