Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $7.50 Million in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 184,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,503,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned approximately 1.42% of Sierra Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,115,000. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $3,510,000. Academy Capital Management purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,365,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth $15,678,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Hugh F. Boyle sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 21,781 shares of the company's stock, valued at $832,252.01. This represents a 31.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 11.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $39.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average of $37.92. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $26.49 and a 52 week high of $43.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.12). Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.37% and a return on equity of 12.38%. The company had revenue of $38.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.59 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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