Sierra Bancorp $BSRR Stake Lowered by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.8%, selling 27,360 shares, leaving them with 689,743 shares valued at approximately $19.23 million.
• Sierra Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, resulting in an annual yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 34.60%.
• The stock has shown a 0.6% decrease and currently trades at $30.66, with a market cap of $416.67 million and a PE ratio of 10.61.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 689,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 27,360 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 4.99% of Sierra Bancorp worth $19,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $637,000 after acquiring an additional 5,125 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter worth $612,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 49.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 5,998 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ BSRR opened at $30.66 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.60. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.42 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $416.67 million, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $250,263.69. This trade represents a 51.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 4,297 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total transaction of $128,995.94. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,614.66. This represents a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,169 shares of company stock valued at $529,844. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

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.

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