Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) Stock Passes Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $27.41 and traded as low as $24.50. Oak Valley Bancorp shares last traded at $24.59, with a volume of 3,513 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Oak Valley Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Oak Valley Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $205.55 million, a PE ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.41.

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

Oak Valley Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Oak Valley Bancorp’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Oak Valley Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director H Randolph Holder, Jr. acquired 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $25.97 per share, with a total value of $155,820.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 147,633 shares in the company, valued at $3,834,029.01. This trade represents a 4.24 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gary Strong bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.17 per share, with a total value of $27,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,842 shares in the company, valued at $321,747.14. This represents a 9.22 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 9,924 shares of company stock valued at $256,577 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 19.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Oak Valley Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 190.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,000. Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 872 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.