Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has lowered its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 10.4%, now holding 118,801 shares valued at approximately $3.31 million.
• Sierra Bancorp recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78, exceeding estimates and generating a revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 3.2% annually, alongside a payout ratio of 34.60%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 118,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,846 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.86% of Sierra Bancorp worth $3,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $475,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 13,970.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 14,948 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 28,426 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter worth $960,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $458,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 4,297 shares of Sierra Bancorp 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 transaction, the director directly owned 31,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $937,614.66. The trade was a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total transaction of $28,548.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,044.25. This represents a 23.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,169 shares of company stock worth $529,844 in the last ninety days. 11.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ BSRR traded down $0.13 on Monday, reaching $30.15. 20,344 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,235. The stock has a market cap of $409.74 million, a PE ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.81. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.42 and a 12 month high of $35.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Sierra Bancorp Company 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.