Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 13.3%, owning approximately 0.88% of the company after selling 18,630 shares.
• Recent analyst reports downgraded Sierra Bancorp's stock rating multiple times, with a consensus rating now at "Hold" and a revised price target of $33.50.
• Sierra Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a 3.3% dividend yield, while the company reported earnings per share of $0.78, surpassing estimates by $0.04.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,630 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.88% of Sierra Bancorp worth $3,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 12,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total value of $28,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,044.25. The trade was a 23.48% 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 business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total value of $128,995.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $937,614.66. This trade represents a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,169 shares of company stock worth $529,844. Insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

BSRR stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.66. The stock had a trading volume of 14,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,146. The stock has a market cap of $416.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $30.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.57. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $39.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.47 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 11.44%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Sierra Bancorp Profile

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.