Vonn R. Christenson Sells 725 Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.48, for a total transaction of $20,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382.72. The trade was a 79.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

BSRR stock opened at $28.47 on Wednesday. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $17.69 and a one year high of $35.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $397.56 million, a PE ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 0.89.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 28,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,758 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BSRR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.