Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $35.72. 3,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,644. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.50. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $23.53 and a twelve month high of $38.60.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $40.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 20.96%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,133 shares in the company, valued at $1,054,655. This trade represents a 14.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director owned 2,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,207.83. This represents a 23.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $402,478 over the last ninety days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fourthstone LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $758,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 25.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.