Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BANR. Raymond James dropped their target price on Banner from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 20th. Stephens dropped their target price on Banner from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banner presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.75.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of Banner stock opened at $45.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.99 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.96 and its 200-day moving average is $44.54. Banner has a one year low of $39.31 and a one year high of $71.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.06. Banner had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 26.88%. The company had revenue of $154.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.00 million. Equities analysts predict that Banner will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA grew its position in Banner by 1.3% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 14,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its position in Banner by 0.6% during the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 38,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,271,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Banner by 2.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Banner by 2.7% during the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Banner by 9.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.88% of the company’s stock.

Banner Company Profile

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that provide commercial banking and financial products and services to individuals, businesses, and public sector entities in the United States. It accepts various deposit instruments, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, regular savings accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as treasury management services and retirement savings plans.