Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.57% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on BSRR. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $33.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.37. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $38.60. The firm has a market cap of $441.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $40.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 11.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $189,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 302,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,491,652.10. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,054,655. This trade represents a 14.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $402,478 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 47,474 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter worth $758,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 83.5% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 13,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 6,056 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 13.4% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 12,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.