Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Raises Dividend to $0.27 Per Share

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share from $0.26, a 3.8% increase. The dividend is payable on August 10 to shareholders of record on August 3, with an annualized yield of about 2.6%.
• The company’s dividend appears well covered, with a 33.2% payout ratio and analyst expectations that earnings will support future payments. Analysts estimate Sierra Bancorp will earn $3.88 per share next year, implying a lower future payout ratio of 26.8%.
• Sierra Bancorp recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.96 EPS versus the $0.82 consensus estimate. However, Wall Street remains cautious overall, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.27 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, August 10th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This is a 3.8% increase from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

Sierra Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Sierra Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 33.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Sierra Bancorp to earn $3.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.8%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Sierra Bancorp stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $41.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 62,856. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $26.49 and a one year high of $43.13. The firm has a market cap of $547.79 million, a P/E ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.76. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.99.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on BSRR shares. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

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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