Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Announces Earnings Results

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.72, Zacks reports. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 17.91%.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $29.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.92. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $17.69 and a 52 week high of $35.13. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.03 and a 200-day moving average of $29.28.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on BSRR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total value of $144,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares in the company, valued at $9,081,462.60. This trade represents a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,031.12. The trade was a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock worth $244,741 in the last 90 days. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.