Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Stake Reduced by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. lowered its stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 652,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 986 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc. owned approximately 4.44% of Sierra Bancorp worth $14,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 52,829 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $689,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ BSRR traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.96. The stock had a trading volume of 23,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,086. The company has a market capitalization of $292.37 million, a P/E ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.51. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $15.01 and a 52 week high of $23.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $50.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.15 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BSRR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Sierra Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sierra Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

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.