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

StockNews.com cut shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.58 on Friday, hitting $32.36. The stock had a trading volume of 24,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,799. The stock's 50 day moving average is $29.10 and its 200-day moving average is $25.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.53 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The company had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.30 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $343,729.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total value of $85,814.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $343,729.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,614 shares of company stock worth $248,666. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.