Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Holdings in Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its position in shares of Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 201,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,900 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Sierra Bancorp were worth $5,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Sierra Bancorp by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 321,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 11,095 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased 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 valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 301.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Sierra Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Sierra Bancorp by 40.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,858 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after buying an additional 19,025 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sierra Bancorp Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ BSRR opened at $25.43 on Friday. Sierra Bancorp has a 52 week low of $18.93 and a 52 week high of $35.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $28.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $351.70 million, a PE ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.76.

Sierra Bancorp (NASDAQ:BSRR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72. Sierra Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 19.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sierra Bancorp will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sierra Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from Sierra Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Sierra Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Sierra Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

Insider Transactions at Sierra Bancorp

In related news, Director Julie G. Castle sold 1,104 shares of Sierra Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total value of $35,328.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,157 shares in the company, valued at $133,024. This trade represents a 20.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Olague sold 3,563 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.15, for a total transaction of $110,987.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,409 shares in the company, valued at $386,540.35. The trade was a 22.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,393 shares of company stock worth $166,994. Insiders own 11.63% of the company’s stock.

Sierra Bancorp 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.