Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ OVLY traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $24.54. 8,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,562. The company has a market capitalization of $205.13 million, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.28. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 52-week low of $23.00 and a 52-week high of $32.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.45.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.28% and a net margin of 28.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary Strong purchased 1,000 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.17 per share, for a total transaction of $27,170.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,842 shares in the company, valued at $321,747.14. The trade was a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. purchased 2,393 shares of Oak Valley Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.00 per share, for a total transaction of $59,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,026 shares in the company, valued at $3,750,650. The trade was a 1.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 9,924 shares of company stock worth $256,577 in the last ninety days. 19.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OVLY. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 38,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC bought a new stake in Oak Valley Bancorp in the third quarter worth $295,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,295,000 after acquiring an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 122.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 15,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 8,471 shares in the last quarter. 30.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.