Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $28.77 and traded as high as $29.08. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $29.01, with a volume of 39,098 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BSRR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a market cap of $417.57 million, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.82.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.30 million. On average, analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at $9,081,462.60. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $142,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. 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.