Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 76,300 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the November 30th total of 66,500 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 36,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after buying an additional 28,495 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after buying an additional 21,558 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 19,025 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of BSRR stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $28.96. 136,896 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 33,601. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.85 million, a P/E ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.23.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $52.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.10%.

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.