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

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 54,700 shares, a decrease of 8.8% from the January 15th total of 60,000 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 2.4 %

BSRR traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.90. 43,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 45,846. The stock has a market cap of $430.26 million, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.92. 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's 50 day moving average price is $29.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.65. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.59%.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,668 shares of company stock worth $146,346 over the last quarter. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 14,335 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 46,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 8,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BSRR shares. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

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.