Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Lowered to “Neutral” at Janney Montgomery Scott

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ BSRR opened at $21.97 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.84. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $15.56 and a 52-week high of $23.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.90.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $37.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 17.80%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 4,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.29, for a total transaction of $105,944.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $698,858.37. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $94,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.