Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) versus Red River Bancshares (NASDAQ:RRBI) Head to Head Comparison

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) and Red River Bancshares (NASDAQ:RRBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.4% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.6% of Red River Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of Sierra Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.6% of Red River Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Sierra Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Red River Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sierra Bancorp pays out 27.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Red River Bancshares pays out 13.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Red River Bancshares has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Sierra Bancorp and Red River Bancshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sierra Bancorp	25.32%	13.89%	1.35%
Red River Bancshares	26.86%	12.68%	1.43%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Sierra Bancorp and Red River Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sierra Bancorp	0	3	2	1	2.67
Red River Bancshares	0	3	0	1	2.50

Sierra Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $43.83, indicating a potential upside of 4.32%. Red River Bancshares has a consensus price target of $115.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.51%. Given Red River Bancshares’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Red River Bancshares is more favorable than Sierra Bancorp.

Volatility and Risk

Sierra Bancorp has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Red River Bancshares has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sierra Bancorp and Red River Bancshares”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sierra Bancorp	$201.98 million	2.70	$42.33 million	$3.88	10.83
Red River Bancshares	$169.85 million	4.03	$42.76 million	$7.22	14.41

Red River Bancshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sierra Bancorp. Sierra Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Red River Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Red River Bancshares beats Sierra Bancorp on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California, and the parent company of Bank of the Sierra. Through its community banking subsidiary, it serves individuals, businesses and agricultural customers, primarily in California’s Central Valley and surrounding communities. Bank of the Sierra offers deposit accounts and lending services, including commercial, real estate, agricultural and consumer loans. Its services also include online and mobile banking, cash management and other banking solutions for businesses and households.

About Red River Bancshares

Red River Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Alexandria, Louisiana. Its principal subsidiary, Red River Bank, provides commercial and personal banking services to individuals, businesses and organizations. The bank offers deposit accounts, business and consumer loans, mortgage lending, cash management and other treasury services, along with digital banking options. Its branch network serves communities across Louisiana, including markets such as Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Shreveport.