Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reiterated their buy rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $36.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BSRR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $28.76 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $390.85 million, a PE ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.78. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.42 and a 1 year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $40.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.57 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 11.21%. Analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total value of $261,173.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,263.69. This represents a 51.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total transaction of $28,548.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $93,044.25. This represents a 23.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $236,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.