Short Interest in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Expands By 14.7%

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 76,300 shares, an increase of 14.7% from the November 30th total of 66,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.98, for a total transaction of $144,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 313,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,081,462.60. The trade was a 1.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares in the company, valued at $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 11.86% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BSRR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $142,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

Sierra Bancorp stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $28.96. The company had a trading volume of 136,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,601. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Sierra Bancorp has a 1 year low of $17.69 and a 1 year high of $35.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.52 and a 200 day moving average of $28.23. The stock has a market cap of $416.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.92.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BSRR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.