Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 60,300 shares, a decrease of 21.0% from the December 15th total of 76,300 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 41,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Sierra Bancorp from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Sierra Bancorp stock traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $29.37. The company had a trading volume of 94,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,892. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.92. 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 has a twelve month low of $17.69 and a twelve month high of $35.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.63 million, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.92.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $52.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Albert L. Berra sold 2,540 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,838,031.12. This represents a 1.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Holly sold 5,000 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 8,056 shares of company stock valued at $244,741 in the last 90 days. 11.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 12,690 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 9.7% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 16,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Sierra Bancorp by 12.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 194,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,619,000 after purchasing an additional 21,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,278,000 after buying an additional 11,095 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.