Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.30 and traded as high as $38.05. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $37.27, with a volume of 74,572 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BSRR. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $495.69 million, a PE ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.68 and its 200-day moving average is $31.30.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $39.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 11.90%. On average, research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Insider Transactions 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 302,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,491,652.10. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,431 shares in the company, valued at $92,207.83. This represents a 23.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,893 shares of company stock worth $526,642 over the last quarter. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.