American Century Companies Inc. Increases Holdings in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 35.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 47,474 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.34% of Sierra Bancorp worth $5,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $71,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $242,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $243,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $282,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 14,141 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 4,073 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $110,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,880. This represents a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 1,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $30,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,233 shares in the company, valued at $906,990. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

BSRR opened at $32.17 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.82. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $32.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $29.14 and a 200-day moving average of $29.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $40.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.57 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 19.70%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 34.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

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.