Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $1.23 Million Stock Holdings in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 138.3% during Q1, owning 43,949 shares worth approximately $1.225 million.
• Sierra Bancorp reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78, exceeding expectations and contributed to a revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.3% with a payout ratio of 34.60%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 138.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 25,508 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.32% of Sierra Bancorp worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 5.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 134,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,748,000 after purchasing an additional 7,544 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 10.9% during the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,297,000 after buying an additional 4,567 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.2% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 38,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 28,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total value of $261,173.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $250,263.69. The trade was a 51.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 4,297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total value of $128,995.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,614.66. This trade represents a 12.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,169 shares of company stock valued at $529,844 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,695. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.56. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $411.23 million, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $39.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.47 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 20.09%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 34.60%.

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.