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 research note published on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $20.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $304.85 million, a P/E ratio of 8.63 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.31. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $16.30 and a 52 week high of $23.21.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $37.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.90 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.80% and a return on equity of 10.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 4,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.29, for a total value of $105,944.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $698,858.37. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $94,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.