Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 105,400 shares, a growth of 84.9% from the February 13th total of 57,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 46,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,024. The trade was a 20.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,668 shares of company stock valued at $146,346 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,818,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth $1,146,000. Foundry Partners LLC raised 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. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 28,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 89,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 23,758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 1.9 %

BSRR traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.56. 29,887 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,063. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $398.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.59%.

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.