Sierra Bancorp's (BSRR) "Buy (B-)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Sierra Bancorp's stock retains a "buy (B-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while Zacks Research has downgraded it from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.78, exceeding estimates, alongside a revenue of $39.21 million for the quarter.
• Insider trading activity includes significant stock sales by executives, reducing their ownership stakes, with insiders currently holding 11.63% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b-)" rating reiterated by analysts at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Tuesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Separately, Zacks Research lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.50.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.25. 5,614 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 35,083. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock's fifty day moving average is $29.57 and its 200 day moving average is $28.62. The firm has a market cap of $383.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.78. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.42 and a 1 year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.09% and a return on equity of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $39.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.47 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 976 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.25, for a total value of $28,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $93,044.25. The trade was a 23.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 9,193 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.41, for a total transaction of $261,173.13. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $250,263.69. This trade represents a 51.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 11.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 13,970.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 14,948 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $960,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 25,508 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $282,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $612,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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