Vonn Christenson Sells 1,053 Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Vonn Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $40,024.53. Following the sale, the director owned 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,183.89. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $38.50 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $35.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.27. The stock has a market cap of $503.58 million, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $26.49 and a one year high of $38.87.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $38.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.68 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 22.53%. On average, analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $153,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BSRR. Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.