Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 878,500 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 832,300 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 198,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BANR. Raymond James increased their price objective on Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.75.

Banner Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of BANR opened at $42.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $45.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.47. Banner has a 52 week low of $39.31 and a 52 week high of $55.66.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. Banner had a return on equity of 12.96% and a net margin of 24.61%. The firm had revenue of $152.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $155.54 million. On average, analysts predict that Banner will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Banner by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 23,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banner by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Banner by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banner by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Banner by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,628,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Company Profile

Banner Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Banner Bank that engages in the provision of 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.