Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ OVLY traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,363. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.49. 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 $202.33 million, a PE ratio of 8.02 and a beta of 0.28.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) 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 business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. purchased 2,393 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $59,825.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 150,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,750,650. This trade represents a 1.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gary Strong bought 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 11,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,747.14. This represents a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 9,924 shares of company stock valued at $256,577. 19.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 190.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $163,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.