Fmr LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 194,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,558 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 1.35% of Sierra Bancorp worth $5,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,675,000 after buying an additional 3,531 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,166,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BSRR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $31.14. 17,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 32,802. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.38. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $35.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.10 million, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 in the last 90 days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sierra Bancorp 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.