Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BSRR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $29.71 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.69 and a 200 day moving average of $20.75. The stock has a market cap of $433.77 million, a P/E ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 0.91. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $16.75 and a 12 month high of $31.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.11. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $51.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.02%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 4,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.29, for a total value of $105,944.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $698,858.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 14,320 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $280,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 996,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 8,243 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 7,260 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.