Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Shares Sold by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 583,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,533 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Sierra Bancorp were worth $16,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,111,000 after buying an additional 28,495 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,818,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after buying an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR opened at $32.22 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48. The firm has a market cap of $463.77 million, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $17.69 and a 12-month high of $35.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.90% and a return on equity of 11.55%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on BSRR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.