Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.43% of Sierra Bancorp worth $4,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 45.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Sierra Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Sierra Bancorp by 8.2% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sierra Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp by 118.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Sierra Bancorp from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Sierra Bancorp Stock Up 0.1 %

Sierra Bancorp stock opened at $28.63 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.88 million, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.90. Sierra Bancorp has a 12 month low of $16.75 and a 12 month high of $31.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $51.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.30 million. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 17.77%. On average, analysts anticipate that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Sierra Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 39.67%.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In other news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total value of $36,259.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,736. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Sierra Bancorp news, Director Morris A. Tharp sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.26, for a total transaction of $292,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 475,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,900,255.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.36, for a total value of $36,259.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,736. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,366 shares of company stock valued at $1,370,158 over the last ninety days. 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.