Wells Fargo & Company MN Continues to Hold Stake in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Wells Fargo & Company MN continued to hold its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock at the end of the first quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.06% of Sierra Bancorp worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 202,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,395,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 827,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,012,000 after buying an additional 36,403 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC bought a new stake in Sierra Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $6,293,000. Finally, Teachers Advisors LLC increased its stake in Sierra Bancorp by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 19,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. 53.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) traded down 1.91% during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.63. The company had a trading volume of 28,143 shares. The stock has a market capitalization of $354.67 million, a PE ratio of 18.59 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.35 and its 200-day moving average is $26.08. Sierra Bancorp has a 12-month low of $17.25 and a 12-month high of $29.50.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. Sierra Bancorp had a net margin of 20.35% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $23.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.80 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sierra Bancorp will post $1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 3rd will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 1st. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.88%.

BSRR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. ValuEngine raised Sierra Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Sierra Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. upgraded Sierra Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. BidaskClub lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Sierra Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.75.

In other news, Director Robert L. Fields sold 9,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.14, for a total transaction of $260,544.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 412,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,196,417.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Fields sold 2,465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.13, for a total transaction of $66,875.45. Following the sale, the director now owns 410,078 shares in the company, valued at $11,125,416.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,165 shares of company stock valued at $330,119 in the last ninety days. 15.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sierra Bancorp Company Profile

Sierra Bancorp is a bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra (the Bank). The Bank is a state-chartered bank, which offers a range of retail and commercial banking services. The Bank’s products and services are related to the business of lending money and accepting deposits. Its customers have access to electronic point-of-sale payment alternatives around the country through the Pulse Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) network.