Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

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

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

BSRR opened at $29.04 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.77. The firm has a market cap of $405.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.70 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994 in the last 90 days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 12,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% 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.