Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $23.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, down from their prior price objective of $24.00.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.96. The stock had a trading volume of 23,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,086. The firm has a market cap of $292.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.93. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $15.01 and a twelve month high of $23.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $18.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.51.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $50.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.15 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 11.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $280,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 996,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,474,000 after acquiring an additional 3,348 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 8,243 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $984,000 after acquiring an additional 7,260 shares during the period. Finally, Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.