Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 40.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,489 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.26% of Sierra Bancorp worth $1,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $110,987.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $29.04 on Friday. Sierra Bancorp has a one year low of $17.70 and a one year high of $35.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday.

Sierra Bancorp Profile

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.