Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BSRR. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BSRR traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $35.72. 3,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,679. The stock has a market cap of $471.15 million, a P/E ratio of 11.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $23.53 and a twelve month high of $38.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.50.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $40.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.82% and a net margin of 20.96%. On average, research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 750 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.93, for a total transaction of $28,447.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,207.83. This trade represents a 23.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,054,655. This trade represents a 14.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $402,478. 11.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $787,000 after buying an additional 3,058 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 79,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $217,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,465,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 132,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,346,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

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.