Michael Olague Sells 9,193 Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock

Key Points

• Michael Olague, the Executive Vice President of Sierra Bancorp, sold 9,193 shares of the company's stock on August 8th for a total value of $261,173, representing a 51.07% decrease in his ownership.
• Sierra Bancorp recently reported $0.78 earnings per share, exceeding analyst expectations, while announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to a yield of 3.5%.
• Following recent trading activities, analysts have downgraded Sierra Bancorp’s rating from "buy" to "hold" and adjusted price targets, indicating a cautious outlook for the stock.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $261,173.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $250,263.69. This trade represents a 51.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of BSRR stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.50. 25,478 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 34,969. The stock has a market cap of $400.91 million, a P/E ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's fifty day moving average is $29.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.67. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.42 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $39.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.47 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 11.44%. Equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 4th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 586,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 47,474 shares during the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,057,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,592,000 after buying an additional 23,758 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Sierra Bancorp

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.