First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.41 Million Position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,525 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.34% of Sierra Bancorp worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BSRR. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 2,810 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $26.60 on Wednesday. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $19.77 and a 1 year high of $35.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.18. The company has a market cap of $367.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46 and a beta of 0.71. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. The company had revenue of $36.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.51 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 5th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BSRR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.