Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.00 and last traded at $38.6850, with a volume of 6672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSRR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

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 market capitalization of $501.15 million, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $35.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.47.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $38.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.68 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 12.67%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total transaction of $381,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,492,647.10. The trade was a 20.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $40,024.53. Following the sale, the director directly owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,183.89. This trade represents a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $572,008. 11.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $153,000. 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.