Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Vonn R. Christenson Sells 725 Shares

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 725 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total value of $20,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382.72. This represents a 79.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BSRR opened at $29.18 on Thursday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.78. The firm has a market cap of $407.47 million, a PE ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 35.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

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.