Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $28.52 and traded as high as $31.88. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $31.81, with a volume of 19,647 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BSRR. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $37.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $432.57 million, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $28.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.58.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $36.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.51 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.92% and a return on equity of 11.38%. Analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Sierra Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 35.46%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 4,297 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.02, for a total value of $128,995.94. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $937,614.66. This represents a 12.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $137,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

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.