It seems to be a wise idea to add the Sierra Bancorp BSRR stock to your portfolio now. Supported by decent loan growth and higher interest rates, the company is well-poised for top-line improvement. Also, its robust balance sheet helps sustain efficient capital distribution activities.

Analysts seem optimistic regarding BSRR’s earnings growth potential. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2024 earnings has been revised 12.7% upward. Thus, the company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking at its price performance, BSRR shares have gained 49.3% over the past six months, outperforming the industry’s 16% rally.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The below-mentioned factors make Sierra Bancorp stock an attractive investment option now.

Earnings Growth: The company’s earnings have witnessed growth of 1% in the last three to five years. The uptrend is expected to continue in the near term. In 2024 and 2025, BSRR’s earnings are projected to grow 17% and 1.2%, respectively.

Revenue Strength: Supported by growth in loan balances, Sierra Bancorp’s revenues witnessed a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% over the last five years (2018-2023), with the uptrend continuing in the first six months of 2024. The top line is expected to continue to grow in the near term, which can be seen from its projected sales growth rates of 5.1% for 2024 and 3.8% for 2025.

Enhanced Capital Distributions: The company has an efficient share repurchase plan in place. In October 2023, it authorized the repurchase of 1 million shares till Oct 31, 2024. In the first six months of 2024, BSRR repurchased 0.4 million shares under the program. Also, it pays regular quarterly cash dividends. In 2023, the company paid out cash dividends totaling $13.7 million or $0.92 per share, representing 39% of net earnings for that year.

Supported by a solid liquidity and balance sheet position, BSRR is expected to continue with efficient capital distributions, thus enhancing shareholder value.

Favorable Valuation: The BSRR stock looks undervalued right now when compared with its peers. It has a price/sales ratio of 1.91, lower than the industry average of 1.98. Also, its price/earnings (F1) ratio of 9.79 compares favorably with the industry’s 11.21.

Other Key Picks

A couple of other top-ranked stocks from the same space are Five Star Bancorp FSBC and FS Bancorp, Inc. FSBW. Both FSBC and FSBW currently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Five Star Bancorp’s current-year earnings estimates have been revised 2.3% upward over the past 60 days. FSBC shares have gained 18.5% over the past six months.

The consensus estimate for FSBW’s current-year earnings has been revised marginally lower over the past 60 days. Over the past six months, FSBW’s share price has increased 24.6%.