Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Julie G. Castle Sells 1,104 Shares of Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $31.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $448.25 million, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BSRR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 21.6% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 36,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.