Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.30 and traded as high as $38.05. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $37.27, with a volume of 74,572 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $505.53 million, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.12. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 20.96%.The company had revenue of $39.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.04 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,054,655. The trade was a 14.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total value of $28,447.50. Following the sale, the director owned 2,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,207.83. The trade was a 23.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,143 shares of company stock worth $536,022. Company insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $153,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.