Zacks Investment Management Takes Position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 97,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,818,000. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.68% of Sierra Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 680,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,737,000 after acquiring an additional 5,830 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 1.2% during the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 657,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,707,000 after buying an additional 7,515 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR opened at $31.10 on Monday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total transaction of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,838,031.12. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741. Company insiders own 11.86% 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.