Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ BSRR opened at $31.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.95 million, a PE ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $35.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.31.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741. Insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter worth $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.