Oak Valley Bancorp (CA) (NASDAQ:OVLY) Short Interest Up 41.8% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 41.8% in March, climbing to 48,163 shares as of March 13 (about 0.7% of shares outstanding) with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.4 based on average daily volume.
• Recent results show quarterly EPS of $0.76 on $21.29 million in revenue, and the company paid a $0.375 dividend (payout ratio ~26.04%) on February 13.
• Institutional investors have been adding to positions—Fourthstone LLC increased its stake by 84.1% to 305,401 shares—and analysts/Weiss Ratings currently give the stock a consensus Buy rating.

Oak Valley Bancorp (CA) (NASDAQ:OVLY - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 48,163 shares, an increase of 41.8% from the February 26th total of 33,962 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 19,866 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Oak Valley Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy".

Oak Valley Bancorp Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:OVLY traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.81. The company had a trading volume of 10,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,583. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.25. Oak Valley Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.70 and a 1 year high of $34.16.

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $21.29 million during the quarter. Oak Valley Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 25.16%.

Oak Valley Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a yield of 232.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 2nd. Oak Valley Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.04%.

Institutional Trading of Oak Valley Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of Oak Valley Bancorp by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 305,401 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,180,000 after purchasing an additional 139,545 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Oak Valley Bancorp by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 142,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,277,000 after purchasing an additional 8,429 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Oak Valley Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $208,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Oak Valley Bancorp by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 42,897 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 6,985 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Oak Valley Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 30.86% of the company's stock.

Oak Valley Bancorp Company Profile

Oak Valley Bancorp is the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank, a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Lodi, California. Through its subsidiary, the company offers a full suite of banking services tailored to individuals, businesses, agricultural enterprises and nonprofit organizations. Its product portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market instruments, certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts, alongside digital banking tools such as mobile and online banking platforms.

On the lending side, Oak Valley Bancorp provides commercial real estate and construction loans, agricultural and farm real estate financing, equipment leases, SBA-initiated programs and lines of credit.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.