Insider Selling: Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Director Sells 976 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Julie G. Castle, a director at Sierra Bancorp, sold 976 shares of stock at an average price of $29.25, representing a 23.48% decrease in her ownership.
• Sierra Bancorp reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78 for the quarter, beating estimates, with a revenue of $39.21 million compared to analyst estimates of $38.47 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, to be paid on August 14th, following an ex-dividend date of August 4th.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of Sierra Bancorp 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 sale, the director owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $93,044.25. This trade represents a 23.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $28.72. The stock had a trading volume of 17,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 38,664. The firm has a market cap of $396.91 million, a P/E ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $22.42 and a 52 week high of $35.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.47 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 20.09%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% during the 1st 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 raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.3% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 25.0% during the 4th 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. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.

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