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

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $41.78 and last traded at $41.68, with a volume of 33741 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BSRR. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of 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 lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $545.17 million, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.68 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.32%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 $7,183.89. The trade was a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Hugh F. Boyle sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.21, for a total transaction of $382,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,781 shares in the company, valued at $832,252.01. This trade represents a 31.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $954,108. Company insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing 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 during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $153,000. Hedge funds and other 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.