Insider Selling: Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Sells 1,104 Shares of Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $35,328.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

BSRR traded up $0.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.46. The stock had a trading volume of 42,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 47,956. The company has a market capitalization of $452.71 million, a PE ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.51.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. On average, research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $142,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $216,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $385,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during 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. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSRR has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a 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.