Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Short Interest Update

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Oak Valley Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock traded down $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $24.51. 709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,511. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 1-year low of $23.00 and a 1-year high of $32.24. The company has a market cap of $204.87 million, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.45.

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Oak Valley Bancorp

In other news, Director Gary Strong acquired 1,000 shares of the company’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 $321,747.14. This trade represents a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.97 per share, for a total transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,924 shares of company stock valued at $256,577. 19.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Oak Valley Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 190.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.