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

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of OVLY stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.30. The stock had a trading volume of 10,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,083. Oak Valley Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $201.52 million, a PE ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.64.

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

Insider Activity at Oak Valley Bancorp

In related news, Director Daniel J. Leonard acquired 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.99 per share, for a total transaction of $26,990.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 58,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,571,438.77. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders purchased 2,923 shares of company stock worth $74,598 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 19.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OVLY. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 923.4% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 310,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,814,000 after acquiring an additional 279,875 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 212.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 369,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,255,000 after acquiring an additional 251,036 shares in the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,398,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 126,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 65,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 255.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 73,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 52,915 shares in the last quarter. 30.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.