Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSRR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler cut 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price 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 stock has a market cap of $499.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.27.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.68 million. Research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total value of $40,024.53. Following the sale, the director owned 189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,183.89. This represents a 84.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Sierra Bancorp

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.