Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Has $224,000 Stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Sierra Bancorp worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 150,415 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after buying an additional 15,080 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $280,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 15.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 77,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 10,496 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 8,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 657,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,707,000 after purchasing an additional 7,515 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $28.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.65. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $16.75 and a twelve month high of $31.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $410.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.90.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $51.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.66%. As a group, research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 39.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $36,259.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,736. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sierra Bancorp news, CEO Kevin J. Mcphaill sold 6,285 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.87, for a total value of $187,732.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,279.13. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total transaction of $36,259.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,736. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,366 shares of company stock valued at $1,370,158. 11.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.