Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 68,700 shares, a drop of 28.1% from the August 15th total of 95,500 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 39,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael Olague sold 14,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.95, for a total value of $436,023.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares in the company, valued at $534,351.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total value of $36,259.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,100 shares in the company, valued at $149,736. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $436,023.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,351.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,366 shares of company stock worth $1,370,158. 11.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $61,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter worth $94,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $280,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake 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 valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 8,243 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of BSRR stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.22. 24,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 31,180. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.83. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $16.75 and a twelve month high of $31.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.67%.

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.