One High-Flying Gold and Silver Producer and Two Other Companies Witness Insider Buying

Oak Valley Bancorp Had Two Different Insiders Purchase Shares Last Week

Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) saw two members of its Board buy shares last week. To begin with, Director H. Randolph Holder Jr. purchased 2,300 shares on Tuesday and 3,946 shares on Thursday at $9.52 apiece, which lifted his ownership to 39,632 shares. Don Barton, another Board member, acquired 3,500 units of common stock last Monday at a cost of $9.40 per unit, lifting his holding to 23,000 units.

Oak Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Oak Valley Community Bank, which offers a range of commercial banking services for both individuals and small to medium-sized businesses in two main areas of service: the Central Valley and the Eastern Sierras. In December 2015, Oak Valley completed the acquisition of a California state-chartered bank, called Mother Lode Bank, for $7.3 million. In early 2016, Oak Valley closed Mother Lode Bank’s two branches in Sonora, California, as the acquirer’s two existing branches in the region were believed to be able to support the freshly-attained customers. Oak Valley Bancorp currently maintains 16 full-service officers.

The extremely low market interest rates in the past several years have had a negative impact on the company’s net interest income despite a slight increase recorded in 2015, which was driven by growth in earning assets. The company’s business plan for 2016 involves a relationship-based expansion throughout its service markets, so the bank plans on increasing its loan-to-deposit ratio to boost net interest margin. The shares of Oak Valley are down 8% year-to-date, but they are flat over the past 12 months. There were no hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey with stakes in Oak Valley Bancorp (NASDAQ:OVLY) at the end of 2015.

Disclosure: None