Private Management Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Private Management Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 583,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 57,533 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned 4.06% of Sierra Bancorp worth $16,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 19,025 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.5 %

Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $32.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.77 million, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48.

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 return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BSRR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

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.