Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $189,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 302,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,491,652.10. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,207.83. This trade represents a 23.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $402,478 over the last ninety days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,207,000 after buying an additional 22,931 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,465,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,085,000 after acquiring an additional 33,048 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 47,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 132,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,346,000 after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $33.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,191. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 0.77. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.42 and a 52 week high of $38.60.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

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.