Zacks Investment Management Takes $2.82 Million Position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 97,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,818,000. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.68% of Sierra Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $142,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 85.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 26,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 12,077 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 over the last quarter. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

BSRR traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $31.05. The company had a trading volume of 32,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,923. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $446.81 million, a PE ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 0.92.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. On average, 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 disclosed 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. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.