Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $29.99 and traded as high as $33.65. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $33.14, with a volume of 38,666 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSRR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $440.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.99.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $40.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.57 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 11.17%. As a group, analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.84%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $110,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at $206,880. This trade represents a 34.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total value of $30,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $906,990. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,143 shares of company stock valued at $163,544 over the last 90 days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $475,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 29,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 6,884 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 5.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 63,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.