Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Down 4.3 %

Shares of OVLY stock opened at $24.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.47 and a beta of 0.35. Oak Valley Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $19.05 million for the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a net margin of 31.38% and a return on equity of 15.92%.

Oak Valley Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.60%.

Insider Transactions at Oak Valley Bancorp

In other news, Director Daniel J. Leonard acquired 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.50 per share, with a total value of $25,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 60,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,686.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 1,796 shares of company stock valued at $44,554 over the last three months. Company insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 95,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after acquiring an additional 7,176 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 13.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 26,289 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 376,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,338,000 after purchasing an additional 6,782 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 7.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 5,048 shares during the period. 30.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Oak Valley Bancorp

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.