StockNews.com Upgrades Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to “Buy”

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $31.33 on Friday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $35.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $450.84 million, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.09.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. Equities analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total transaction of $81,889.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,154 shares of company stock valued at $330,556. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised 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 worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.