Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Up 11.0% in July

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 144,600 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the July 15th total of 130,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 35,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of BSRR traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.31. 32,785 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,985. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $16.75 and a 52 week high of $31.85. The company has a market cap of $413.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $51.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.30 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. 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 payout ratio is presently 38.02%.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total transaction of $436,023.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,351.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total transaction of $436,023.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares in the company, valued at $534,351.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Morris A. Tharp sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total value of $292,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 475,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,900,255.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,268 shares of company stock worth $1,284,343 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $280,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 996,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the fourth 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, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 7,260 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.