Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 16,889 Shares of Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 67.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,889 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.06% of Sierra Bancorp worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter worth $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 987 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $243,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR opened at $37.03 on Thursday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.42 and a 52-week high of $38.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $492.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BSRR shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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 assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $28,447.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,207.83. This trade represents a 23.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 30,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,054,655. The trade was a 14.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,143 shares of company stock valued at $536,022 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.