Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases Shares of 7,618 Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.05% of Sierra Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BSRR. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 657,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,707,000 after purchasing an additional 7,515 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,278,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,619,000 after buying an additional 21,558 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC raised its holdings 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. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 119,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 3,531 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BSRR opened at $28.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $416.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a 52-week low of $17.69 and a 52-week high of $35.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.30.

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

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 38.10%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total transaction of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741. Corporate insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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 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.