Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.76 and last traded at $42.2950, with a volume of 31845 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BSRR. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $561.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.37 and its 200 day moving average is $36.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.68 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. Analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 30.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $381,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,492,647.10. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Hugh F. Boyle sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.21, for a total value of $382,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,781 shares in the company, valued at $832,252.01. The trade was a 31.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $954,108 over the last 90 days. 11.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $8,465,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 371.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after purchasing an additional 50,714 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth $784,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,207,000 after buying an additional 22,931 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is 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.