Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BSRR. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $37.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $504.34 million, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $38.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.96.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business had revenue of $39.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,054,655. This represents a 14.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at $206,880. The trade was a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,143 shares of company stock valued at $338,544 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.