Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $3.35 Million Investment in Sierra Bancorp $BSRR

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 82,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,346,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,249,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $17,865,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $14,576,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $8,465,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $7,503,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $39.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $510.88 million, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.76. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $26.49 and a 12-month high of $43.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $40.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.00.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $38.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.59 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 22.37%. Research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 10th. Investors of record on Monday, August 3rd were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSRR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

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.