Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 83,400 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the October 15th total of 107,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 34,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $343,729.30. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,154 shares of company stock valued at $330,556. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $61,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of BSRR stock traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.21. 18,477 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,949. The company has a market cap of $449.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $35.13. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $29.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.01.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. The company had revenue of $52.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

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.