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

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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 0.8 %

BSRR traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.75. 37,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,881. The company has a market cap of $428.10 million, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.14. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $35.13.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Equities analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total transaction of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 24.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 14,335 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 46,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 8,033 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 74,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 3,752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.