Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Rating Lowered to Hold at 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 Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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 Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BSRR opened at $28.94 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $16.75 and a 1 year high of $31.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $422.41 million, a PE ratio of 11.96 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $343,729.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the first 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 last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.