Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp's stock moved above its 200-day moving average ($32.75), trading as high as $36.36 and last at $35.86 on Wednesday with about 36,587 shares traded.
• Analyst coverage is mixed: two Buy and three Hold ratings produce a consensus "Hold" and an average price target of $37, with recent notable moves including DA Davidson raising its target to $44 while Piper Sandler cut its target to $34.
• Sierra Bancorp beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $0.97 vs. $0.85), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 (annualized $1.04, ~2.9% yield), and insiders sold roughly 6,000 shares over the past three months.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.75 and traded as high as $36.36. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $35.86, with a volume of 36,587 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $35.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.51 million, a PE ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.12. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The firm had revenue of $40.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.04 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Sierra Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $189,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 302,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,491,652.10. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,431 shares in the company, valued at $92,207.83. The trade was a 23.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $227,478 over the last three months. Insiders own 11.86% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 71.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 24,072 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 10,046 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $784,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 60,262 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 1,744 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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