Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $38.00 and last traded at $37.6550, with a volume of 23453 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.41.

The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $39.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 19.70%.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 34.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BSRR shares. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,054,655. This represents a 14.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,880. This represents a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,143 shares of company stock worth $338,544. 11.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 47,474 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $5,057,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $71,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $758,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 4.9%

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $493.83 million, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.79.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.