Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Price

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 16th.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $31.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.02. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.69 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.68 million, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.10%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,031.12. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 in the last quarter. 11.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 3,752 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides retail and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in California. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market demand accounts, time deposits, retirement accounts, and sweep accounts.