Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $39.45 and last traded at $39.3170, with a volume of 15960 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.92. The company has a market capitalization of $511.17 million, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.14. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. The business had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.68 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.32%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $381,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,492,647.10. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $40,024.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,183.89. The trade was a 84.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders 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 hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in 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 worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $153,000. 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.