Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) Competitors

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) and Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, community ranking, media sentiment, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, BSRR or LKFN?

Sierra Bancorp has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor BSRR or LKFN?

In the previous week, Lakeland Financial had 1 more articles in the media than Sierra Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Lakeland Financial and 2 mentions for Sierra Bancorp. Sierra Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.86 beat Lakeland Financial's score of 1.22 indicating that Sierra Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sierra Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Lakeland Financial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend BSRR or LKFN?

Sierra Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.58%. Lakeland Financial has a consensus target price of $70.00, suggesting a potential upside of 34.38%. Given Lakeland Financial's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lakeland Financial is more favorable than Sierra Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sierra Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Lakeland Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BSRR or LKFN?

Lakeland Financial received 149 more outperform votes than Sierra Bancorp when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 56.43% of users gave Lakeland Financial an outperform vote while only 49.67% of users gave Sierra Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sierra Bancorp	Outperform Votes 224 49.67%	Underperform Votes 227 50.33%
Lakeland Financial	Outperform Votes 373 56.43%	Underperform Votes 288 43.57%

Is BSRR or LKFN more profitable?

Lakeland Financial has a net margin of 21.74% compared to Sierra Bancorp's net margin of 19.90%. Lakeland Financial's return on equity of 13.31% beat Sierra Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sierra Bancorp	19.90%	11.55%	1.11%
Lakeland Financial	21.74%	13.31%	1.35%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, BSRR or LKFN?

Lakeland Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Sierra Bancorp. Sierra Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lakeland Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sierra Bancorp	$138.82M	2.52	$40.56M	$2.81	9.01
Lakeland Financial	$253.52M	5.35	$93.48M	$3.63	14.35

Do insiders and institutionals believe in BSRR or LKFN?

55.4% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.6% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Lakeland Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BSRR or LKFN a better dividend stock?

Sierra Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Sierra Bancorp pays out 35.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lakeland Financial pays out 55.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Sierra Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Lakeland Financial beats Sierra Bancorp on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.