Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 107,000 shares, an increase 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 shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.70, for a total transaction of $85,814.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $343,729.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 11.86% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sierra Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $142,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 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. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $28.40. 18,206 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 31,331. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.14. The stock has a market cap of $403.14 million, a P/E ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.89. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $16.75 and a 1-year high of $31.85.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $52.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.30 million. On average, analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 38.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BSRR. StockNews.com cut shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

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.