Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Announces Earnings Results

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) released its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.12), Zacks reports. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 22.53%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR opened at $40.30 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $527.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.05. 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 has a 52-week low of $26.49 and a 52-week high of $43.13.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $40,024.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,183.89. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $381,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,647.10. This represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $954,108. Company insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $8,465,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 371.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 50,714 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,085,000 after purchasing an additional 33,048 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $784,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,207,000 after purchasing an additional 22,931 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BSRR. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research cut Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.