StockNews.com Downgrades Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

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

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

BSRR stock opened at $28.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $398.39 million, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $35,328.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 12,077 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after acquiring an additional 21,558 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.