StockNews.com Upgrades Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to “Buy”

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $28.93 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $16.75 and a 1 year high of $31.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Equities analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $36,259.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,736. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $36,259.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,736. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Morris A. Tharp sold 10,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total value of $292,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 475,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,900,255.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,278 shares of company stock valued at $934,134. Insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after acquiring an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after acquiring an additional 15,080 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 0.9% in the 1st 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. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.