Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $28.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.37 and a twelve month high of $31.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.16.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.59%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $343,729.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 11.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.