Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,489 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Sierra Bancorp were worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ BSRR opened at $29.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $17.70 and a 1 year high of $35.13. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its 200 day moving average is $29.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value 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 represents a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BSRR shares. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Sierra Bancorp Profile

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.