StockNews.com Downgrades Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) to Sell

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OVLY opened at $24.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.36. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.49 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $24.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.64.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $19.67 million during the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a net margin of 35.34% and a return on equity of 20.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel J. Leonard purchased 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.99 per share, for a total transaction of $26,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 58,223 shares in the company, valued at $1,571,438.77. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 2,923 shares of company stock worth $74,598. Corporate insiders own 19.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 370,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 216.1% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 337.8% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 3,817 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 56,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Oak Valley Bancorp by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 22,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 4,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.