Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 283,799 shares, an increase of 14.7% from the February 12th total of 247,436 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 66,099 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 66,099 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,054,655. This represents a 14.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $189,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 302,970 shares in the company, valued at $11,491,652.10. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $402,478. 11.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,207,000 after buying an additional 22,931 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 586,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $17,410,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,465,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,085,000 after acquiring an additional 33,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,401,000 after purchasing an additional 47,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of BSRR stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $32.96. 41,787 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 69,824. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.42 and a 1 year high of $38.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $434.74 million, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $35.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.14.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 11.82%. The company had revenue of $40.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.04 million. Research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.33%.

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.