Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $612,000 in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired 21,935 shares of Sierra Bancorp valued at approximately $612,000, increasing its stake to 0.16% at the end of the quarter.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their target prices for Sierra Bancorp, with DA Davidson lowering its target from $37.00 to $36.00 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reducing it from $32.00 to $31.00.
• Sierra Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing a 3.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 4th.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 21,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $612,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.16% of Sierra Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,434. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.42 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business's 50-day moving average is $29.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.70. The company has a market capitalization of $386.77 million, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.79.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The company had revenue of $39.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.47 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is 34.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 4,297 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $937,614.66. This trade represents a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total value of $28,548.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,044.25. This represents a 23.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,976 shares of company stock valued at $268,671 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

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.