Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $38.67 and last traded at $38.6910, with a volume of 7575 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BSRR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day moving average is $34.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $499.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.14. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. The firm had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.68 million. Analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 30.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 3,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $150,183.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 189 shares in the company, valued at $7,191.45. The trade was a 95.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 11.83% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,465,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 371.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 64,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,911,000 after buying an additional 50,714 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 16.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 238,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,085,000 after purchasing an additional 33,048 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $784,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,931 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.