Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Up 14.0% in June

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 97,600 shares, an increase of 14.0% from the May 31st total of 85,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

BSRR traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $22.55. 4,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,927. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.23 million, a PE ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 0.91. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $16.30 and a fifty-two week high of $23.21.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 17.80%. The firm had revenue of $37.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.90 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSRR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, EVP Michael Olague sold 4,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.29, for a total transaction of $105,944.37. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $698,858.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 67,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,320 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 7,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after acquiring an additional 8,243 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.