StockNews.com Downgrades Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) to Hold

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR stock opened at $28.53 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.76. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $17.70 and a 12 month high of $35.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick 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, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,024. This represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total value of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994 in the last ninety days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,278,000 after acquiring an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after acquiring an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 176,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,111,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 126,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,670,000 after buying an additional 4,794 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Company 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.