Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 76,300 shares, a growth of 14.7% from the November 30th total of 66,500 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 36,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.92. The stock had a trading volume of 71,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,751. The company has a market capitalization of $416.27 million, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BSRR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 over the last quarter. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 19,025 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $2,818,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.