Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Share Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp shares rose above their 200-day moving average of $39.14, reaching $39.66 before closing around $39.15.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with a $38.67 target price; the company recently missed quarterly earnings and revenue expectations.
• Sierra Bancorp increased its quarterly dividend from $0.26 to $0.27 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $1.08 and a 2.8% yield.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $39.14 and traded as high as $39.66. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $39.15, with a volume of 53,152 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, September 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.67.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.01 and its 200 day moving average is $39.14. The company has a market cap of $507.50 million, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.12). Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 22.37%. The business had revenue of $38.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $39.59 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,346,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake 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 worth $11,673,000 after purchasing an additional 85,098 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,576,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,249,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,503,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp is the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in California. Through Bank of the Sierra, the company provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses, agricultural customers and public entities.

Its products and services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and business loans, residential and commercial real estate financing, agricultural lending, treasury management and online and mobile banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.