Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BSRR. DA Davidson decreased their price objective 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 decreased their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.44. The company had a trading volume of 46,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,203. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.77 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $365.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.17.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.01). Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. The company had revenue of $36.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.51 million. On average, research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is 35.46%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 19,025 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 78,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,278,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

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.