Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock: Insider Lynda Scearcy Sells 12,725 Shares

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Lynda Scearcy sold 12,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.75, for a total transaction of $531,268.75. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,548 shares in the company, valued at $148,129. The trade was a 78.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lynda Scearcy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 6th, Lynda Scearcy sold 5,300 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.46, for a total value of $219,738.00.
• On Tuesday, November 3rd, Lynda Scearcy sold 8,010 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.15, for a total value of $337,621.50.
• On Thursday, October 29th, Lynda Scearcy sold 5,850 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.34, for a total value of $247,689.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of BSRR traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $41.92. 67,993 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,686. The company has a market cap of $543.53 million, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.40 and its 200-day moving average is $38.42. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.35 and a 52 week high of $44.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.27. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.89% and a net margin of 25.32%. The business had revenue of $40.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.23 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.84%.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter worth $3,346,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,576,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 344,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,673,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,503,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,249,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $47.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.83.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp is the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra, a community bank headquartered in Porterville, California. Founded in 1977, the bank serves individuals, families, farmers, small businesses and commercial customers in California’s Central Valley and surrounding communities.

Bank of the Sierra provides a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential lending, commercial real estate loans, business banking, agricultural financing and online and mobile banking.