StockNews.com Upgrades Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to "Buy"

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $28.56. 29,887 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,063. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $398.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.79 and its 200-day moving average is $29.80.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

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Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is 35.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $110,987.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,668 shares of company stock valued at $146,346. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 21.2% in the third 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 period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,146,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 85.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Company 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.