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

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Oak Valley Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of OVLY traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $24.96. The stock had a trading volume of 21,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,065. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.40. The company has a market capitalization of $208.64 million, a P/E ratio of 8.26 and a beta of 0.28. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 52 week low of $23.00 and a 52 week high of $32.24.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last announced its 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 return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 28.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Strong acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.17 per share, for a total transaction of $27,170.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 11,842 shares in the company, valued at $321,747.14. This represents a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.97 per share, with a total value of $155,820.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 147,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,834,029.01. This trade represents a 4.24 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,924 shares of company stock valued at $256,577. Company insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 217,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,769,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 123.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.86% of the company’s stock.

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.