13D Filing: Basswood Capital Further Cuts Stake in Sierra Bancorp (BSRR)

This Amendment No. 4 to Schedule 13D (this “Amendment No. 4”) is being filed with respect to the Common Stock, no par value (the “Common Stock”), of Sierra Bancorp, a Delaware corporation (the “Issuer”), to amend the Schedule 13D filed on August 21, 2014 (as amended by Amendment No. 1 filed on July 29, 2015, Amendment No. 2 filed on October 14, 2015, Amendment No. 3 filed on February 16, 2016 and this Amendment No. 4, the “Schedule 13D”).

Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.

Item 3 of the Schedule 13D is amended to reflect the following:

The Funds and two managed accounts expended an aggregate of $9,109,736 (including commissions, if any) to acquire the 645,763 shares of Common Stock reported herein. The Funds and managed accounts effect purchases of securities primarily through margin accounts maintained for them with each of J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley & Co. and BNP Paribas Prime Brokerage, which may extend margin credit to the Funds as and when required to open or carry positions in the margin accounts, subject to applicable Federal margin regulations, stock exchange rules and the firm’s credit policies. In such instances, the positions held in the margin accounts are pledged as collateral security for the repayment of debit balances in the accounts.

Item 5. Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

Item 5(a), 5(b), 5(c) and 5(e) of the Schedule 13D is amended to reflect the following:

(a)  As of the date of this Schedule 13D, each of the Reporting Persons beneficially owns shares of Common Stock in such numbers as set forth on the cover pages of this Schedule 13D. The total number of shares each of the Reporting Persons beneficially owns represents such percentages as set forth on the cover pages to this Schedule 13D of the Common Stock outstanding. The percentages used in this Schedule 13D are calculated based upon the 13,248,048 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of October 30, 2015, as reported in the Issuer’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2015 and filed on November 6, 2015.

(b)  The Management Company, Matthew Lindenbaum and Bennett Lindenbaum share voting and dispositive power over the 645,763 shares of Common Stock held directly by the Funds and two managed accounts. Basswood Partners, the Management Company, Matthew Lindenbaum and Bennett Lindenbaum share voting and dispositive power over the 8,806 shares of Common Stock held directly by Basswood Financial Fund, LP and Basswood Financial Long Only Fund, LP. Basswood Long Short GP,   the Management Company, Matthew Lindenbaum and Bennett Lindenbaum share voting and dispositive power over the 64,299 shares of Common Stock held directly by Basswood Enhanced Long Short Fund, LP. By virtue of the relationships among the Reporting Persons, as described in this Schedule 13D, the Reporting Persons may be deemed to be a “group” under the Federal securities laws. Except as otherwise set forth in this Schedule 13D, each Fund expressly disclaims beneficial ownership of any of the shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by any other Reporting Person, and the filing of this Statement shall not be construed as an admission, for the purposes of Sections 13(d) and 13(g) or under any provision of the Exchange Act or the rules promulgated thereunder or for any other purpose, that any Fund is a beneficial owner of any shares not directly held by such Fund.

(c) The following table sets forth all transactions with respect to the Common Stock effected by the Reporting Persons during the past sixty (60) days, inclusive of any transactions effected through 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on February 19, 2016. All such transactions were sales of Common Stock effected in the open market, and the table in the per share prices column includes the commissions paid in connection with such sales.

(e) On February 19, 2016, the Management Company, Matthew Lindenbaum and Bennett Lindenbaum ceased to be the beneficial owners of more than five percent of the Common Stock.