Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.38 and traded as high as $41.10. Sierra Bancorp shares last traded at $40.77, with a volume of 28,176 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.97 and a 200 day moving average of $36.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $533.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.14. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 22.53%.The firm had revenue of $38.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.68 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Monday, May 4th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 3,947 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $150,183.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,191.45. This trade represents a 95.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Hugh F. Boyle sold 10,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.21, for a total transaction of $382,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,252.01. This trade represents a 31.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $954,108. Insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after buying an additional 1,956 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors 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.