Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock: Insider Lynda Scearcy Sells 5,850 Shares

Key Points

• Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,850 Sierra Bancorp shares at an average price of $42.34, totaling $247,689 and reducing her holdings by 19.41% to 24,283 shares.
• Sierra Bancorp shares rose 0.2% to $42.43, near their 12-month high of $44.00. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.18 in EPS versus the $0.91 consensus estimate.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27, equivalent to an annualized $1.08 payout and a 2.5% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $43.75 price target, while institutional investors own 55.4% of the stock.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,850 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.34, for a total value of $247,689.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 24,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,028,142.22. The trade was a 19.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $42.43. 126,291 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,620. The business's fifty day moving average is $40.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $27.93 and a 12-month high of $44.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.02 million, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $40.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.23 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.37% and a return on equity of 12.38%. As a group, research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 2nd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 2nd. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 27.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,249,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $17,865,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,576,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 344,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,673,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,503,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BSRR. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $47.00 to $48.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.75.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp is the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra, a community bank headquartered in Porterville, California. Founded in 1977, the bank serves individuals, families, farmers, small businesses and commercial customers in California's Central Valley and surrounding communities.

Bank of the Sierra provides a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential lending, commercial real estate loans, business banking, agricultural financing and online and mobile banking.

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