Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $41.26 and finishing near $40.94, reflecting recent momentum in the stock.
• Recent earnings were solid, with quarterly EPS of $0.96 topping estimates, while the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26, equal to a 2.6% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $37 average target, even as some firms maintained buy ratings and hedge funds continued to increase their stakes.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $41.26 and last traded at $40.94, with a volume of 4700 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $531.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.87.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.68 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 22.53%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.32%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $381,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,647.10. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 3,947 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $150,183.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,191.45. This represents a 95.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $954,108 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,207,000 after buying an additional 22,931 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% during the first 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,085,000 after acquiring an additional 33,048 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 132,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,346,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 98,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 15,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp NASDAQ: BSRR is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.

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