Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 60,300 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the December 15th total of 76,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded down $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.58. The stock had a trading volume of 39,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,543. 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 market cap of $425.66 million, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $35.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.82.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

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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