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

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $31.33 on Friday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $35.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.17. The firm has a market cap of $450.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.89.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $52.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $343,729.30. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,154 shares of company stock valued at $330,556. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 valued at $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 14,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.