Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $29.04 on Thursday. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $17.70 and a 1-year high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $405.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

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

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,752 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $1,146,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 85.3% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 12,077 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after buying an additional 28,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,619,000 after acquiring an additional 21,558 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is 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.