Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 60,300 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the December 31st total of 76,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSRR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total transaction of $81,889.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741. 11.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 24.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 14,335 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 21.2% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 46,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 8,033 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $30.35. The stock had a trading volume of 37,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,176. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.33. 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 cap of $436.74 million, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

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.