Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

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

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $28.53 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.76. The company has a market cap of $398.39 million, a P/E ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $17.70 and a 1 year high of $35.13.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $110,987.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,540.35. This trade represents a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $475,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 12,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $458,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,426 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 9,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Company 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.