Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) EVP Michael Olague Sells 3,563 Shares

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $386,540.35. This represents a 22.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR traded down $0.21 on Monday, reaching $30.95. 5,079 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,593. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.51. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $17.69 and a 12 month high of $35.13. The firm has a market cap of $445.30 million, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.92. 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 data 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 return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 35.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BSRR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in Sierra Bancorp by 19.2% during 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the third 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after purchasing an additional 19,025 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.