Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.12, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $39.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 19.70%.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $35.41 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $470.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.79. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $36.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.84%.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $110,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,880. This represents a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 30,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,054,655. The trade was a 14.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,143 shares of company stock worth $338,544. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 25.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BSRR shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.50.

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.