Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) released its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01, Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.66%.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,565. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.26 million, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.75. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $16.75 and a 12-month high of $31.85.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total value of $36,259.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,736. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total transaction of $436,023.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,351.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $36,259.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,736. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,366 shares of company stock worth $1,370,158. Corporate insiders own 11.86% 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.