Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR opened at $29.75 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.10 million, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $35.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This trade represents a 1.66 % 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. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 19,025 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $2,818,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.