PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) _ Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $9.3 million.

The bank, based in Porterville, California, said it had earnings of 60 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 56 cents per share.

The parent company of Bank of the Sierra posted revenue of $33.6 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $30.7 million, which also beat Street forecasts.

For the year, the company reported profit of $36 million, or $2.33 per share. Revenue was reported as $120.8 million.

Sierra Bancorp shares have declined 4.5% since the beginning of the year. The stock has climbed 6% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BSRR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BSRR

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News