Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $38.60 and last traded at $38.4090, with a volume of 7017 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSRR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.50.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

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 business’s fifty day moving average is $34.79 and its 200 day moving average is $31.37. The stock has a market cap of $501.57 million, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.79.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $39.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. As a group, analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 33.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 23.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 $189,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 302,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,491,652.10. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 15,143 shares of company stock worth $536,022 over the last ninety days. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 733,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,207,000 after acquiring an additional 22,931 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 1.3% in the second quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 586,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,410,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $8,465,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,085,000 after buying an additional 33,048 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 181,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,401,000 after buying an additional 47,474 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.