Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.60 and traded as high as $41.13. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $40.74, with a volume of 73,096 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $531.49 million, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.12). Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.37% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $38.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.59 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $381,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,095 shares in the company, valued at $1,492,647.10. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $40,024.53. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,183.89. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,053 shares of company stock worth $803,925. Insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 10,046 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $784,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 60,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.