Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $41.26 and last traded at $40.94, with a volume of 4700 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSRR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 1.6%

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $38.18 and a 200 day moving average of $35.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $537.20 million, a PE ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.14. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. The company had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.68 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $381,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,492,647.10. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 3,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total transaction of $150,183.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191.45. This represents a 95.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $954,108 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 32.9% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 344,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,673,000 after buying an additional 85,098 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 24.3% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 24,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 4,858 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 98,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,345,000 after acquiring an additional 15,877 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 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.