Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) CAO Cindy Dabney Sells 3,443 Shares of Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) CAO Cindy Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $110,176.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $206,880. This trade represents a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,569. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.33. The company has a market capitalization of $433.98 million, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.82. 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 has a 12 month low of $22.42 and a 12 month high of $32.81.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.07). Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 19.70% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $40.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BSRR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 5.2% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 38,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $960,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 5.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 134,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,748,000 after buying an additional 7,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 10.9% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 46,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 4,567 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.