Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ BSRR traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $29.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 36,094. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.77. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $17.70 and a fifty-two week high of $35.13. The stock has a market cap of $405.51 million, a PE ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. Analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $386,540.35. This trade represents a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 valued at $5,619,000 after acquiring an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 131,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 126,905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,670,000 after acquiring an additional 4,794 shares in 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.