Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 83,400 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the October 15th total of 107,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 34,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR opened at $31.52 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $29.29 and its 200-day moving average is $26.01. The stock has a market cap of $453.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month 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.

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

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSRR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 trade represents 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 the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,154 shares of company stock valued at $330,556 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.