Short Interest in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Rises By 64.8%

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 247,436 shares, an increase of 64.8% from the January 29th total of 150,182 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 92,379 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 92,379 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,207.83. This represents a 23.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $189,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 302,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,491,652.10. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,143 shares of company stock valued at $536,022. Insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,207,000 after buying an additional 22,931 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 1.3% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 586,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after buying an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,465,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,085,000 after acquiring an additional 33,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,401,000 after acquiring an additional 47,474 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on BSRR. Zacks Research raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 3.5%

NASDAQ BSRR traded down $1.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $35.98. 94,986 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,664. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.79. The stock has a market cap of $478.53 million, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.79. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.42 and a 1 year high of $38.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $40.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 20.96%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 33.33%.

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.