Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) issued its earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.12, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $39.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.04 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.17% and a net margin of 19.70%.

Sierra Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $37.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $493.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $22.42 and a 1-year high of $38.00.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lynda Scearcy sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $175,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,054,655. The trade was a 14.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Cindy L. Dabney sold 3,443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $110,176.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $206,880. This represents a 34.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,143 shares of company stock valued at $338,544 in the last quarter. 11.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 2.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 17,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 47,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 5.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on BSRR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.50.

About Sierra Bancorp

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ: BSRR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Porterville, California. The company operates through its banking subsidiary, offering a full suite of financial services to individual and commercial clients. With a community-focused approach, Sierra Bancorp emphasizes relationship banking and local market expertise.

Its core business activities include deposit-taking and lending. On the deposit side, Sierra Bancorp provides checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts.