Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Short Interest Update

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 25,800 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the February 28th total of 20,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oak Valley Bancorp

In related news, Director Gary Strong purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.17 per share, with a total value of $27,170.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $321,747.14. This trade represents a 9.22 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. acquired 2,393 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.00 per share, with a total value of $59,825.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 150,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,750,650. This trade represents a 1.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,202 shares of company stock worth $264,377 over the last three months. 19.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of OVLY. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $4,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,646 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 510 shares during the period. Finally, Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $1,726,000. 30.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Up 3.0 %

OVLY opened at $25.70 on Thursday. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 12 month low of $23.00 and a 12 month high of $32.24. The company has a market cap of $214.83 million, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.93 and a 200 day moving average of $27.38.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 EPS 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 declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Oak Valley Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday.

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.