Short Interest in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Drops By 10.9%

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 66,500 shares, a decrease of 10.9% from the November 15th total of 74,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 37,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ BSRR traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $31.14. The stock had a trading volume of 17,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,802. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.54. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $448.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. On average, analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 24.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 14,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BSRR. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.

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