Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) had its price target lifted by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.05% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $30.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $445.51 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.05.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% in the third 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. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 21,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 24.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 14,335 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.