Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 107,000 shares, a growth of 10.4% from the September 30th total of 96,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 37,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.41. The stock had a trading volume of 6,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 31,330. The company has a market cap of $429.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a twelve month low of $16.75 and a twelve month high of $31.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 39.67%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other Sierra Bancorp news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $343,729.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 11.86% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BSRR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

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.