Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $42.76 and ending the session up about 3.2%. The move came with trading volume of 31,845 shares.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is now “Hold,” with an average price target of $37.00. Recent calls included a downgrade from Zacks Research, while DA Davidson kept a $44 target and a Buy rating.
• The company reported solid quarterly results and pays a dividend, posting EPS of $0.96 versus estimates of $0.82 and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, or $1.04 annually for a 2.4% yield.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $42.76 and last traded at $42.2950, with a volume of 31845 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSRR has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 3.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $561.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50-day moving average is $39.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $38.66 million during 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.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 3,947 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $150,183.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 189 shares in the company, valued at $7,191.45. This trade represents a 95.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Hugh F. Boyle sold 10,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.21, for a total value of $382,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,252.01. This represents a 31.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $954,108. 11.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $11,673,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 24.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 24,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 4,858 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth $358,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $284,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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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