Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) Short Interest Update

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 87,000 shares, an increase of 22.0% from the March 31st total of 71,300 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 29,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BSRR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Sierra Bancorp from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Sierra Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 1.3 %

Sierra Bancorp stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.53. The stock had a trading volume of 12,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $300.76 million, a P/E ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.55. 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 has a 1-year low of $15.01 and a 1-year high of $23.21.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.26). Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.11% and a net margin of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $50.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.15 million. As a group, analysts expect that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 38.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sierra Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BSRR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 15.6% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 77,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after acquiring an additional 10,496 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Sierra Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 996,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,474,000 after purchasing an additional 3,348 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 8,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 43,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 7,260 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.