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

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.12), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $38.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.59 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 22.37%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

BSRR opened at $40.98 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $535.98 million, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.16. Sierra Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $26.49 and a fifty-two week high of $43.13.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 31.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSRR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $36.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director Vonn R. Christenson sold 1,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.01, for a total transaction of $40,024.53. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,183.89. This represents a 84.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Christopher G. Treece sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.18, for a total value of $381,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,492,647.10. This trade represents a 20.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $954,108 over the last three months. Company insiders own 11.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 3,714.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 121.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.