Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.24

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 18th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st.

Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years. Sierra Bancorp has a payout ratio of 36.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sierra Bancorp to earn $2.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.4%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.75. 37,286 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,456. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $28.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $434.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $16.75 and a 52 week high of $31.85.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $51.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total transaction of $436,023.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares in the company, valued at $534,351.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total value of $36,259.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,736. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total transaction of $436,023.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares in the company, valued at $534,351.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,366 shares of company stock worth $1,370,158. 11.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.