Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Releases Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 Performance

NASDAQ:BSRR opened at $29.71 on Tuesday. Sierra Bancorp has a 1-year low of $17.69 and a 1-year high of $35.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.28. The firm has a market cap of $427.65 million, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. 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 dividend yield of 3.37%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BSRR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.24, for a total value of $81,889.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,838,031.12. This trade represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction on 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 $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 three months, insiders sold 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741. Company insiders own 11.86% 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.