SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires New Position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $94,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 66,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,675,000 after purchasing an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Morris A. Tharp sold 10,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total value of $292,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 475,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,900,255.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Morris A. Tharp sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total value of $292,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 475,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,900,255.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 11,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.45, for a total transaction of $331,727.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,005.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,758 shares of company stock valued at $710,142. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $27.99 on Friday. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $16.75 and a 1-year high of $31.85. The firm has a market cap of $408.54 million, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. On average, analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.67%.

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.