StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Down 3.5 %

NASDAQ OVLY opened at $23.94 on Thursday. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 1-year low of $16.52 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a market capitalization of $197.51 million, a PE ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.69.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $20.53 million for the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a net margin of 28.65% and a return on equity of 19.27%.

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 27th. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Oak Valley Bancorp news, Director Don Barton bought 1,190 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.75 per share, with a total value of $33,022.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $971,250. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Lynn Dickerson purchased 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 17,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $488,867.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Don Barton purchased 1,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.75 per share, with a total value of $33,022.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $971,250. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 3,745 shares of company stock valued at $98,393 over the last three months. 19.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OVLY. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 8.5% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 81.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 4,447 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.8% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $400,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 47,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 24.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Oak Valley Bancorp Company Profile

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Oak Valley Bancorp is a bank holding company,which operates through its subsidiary, Oak Valley Community Bank offers commercial banking services. It offers checking and savings, money markets, home loans, home equity loans, consumer loans, debit master card, telephone banking, mobile banking, commercial loans, agricultural loans, small business loans, and payroll services.