Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Separately, 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.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BSRR opened at $28.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.39 million, a P/E ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.70 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.82 and a 200-day moving average of $29.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s 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 $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the firm’s 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. Insiders sold 5,393 shares of company stock valued at $166,994 in the last quarter. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSRR. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $137,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 838 shares during the period. 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.