Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $73.00 and last traded at $72.77, with a volume of 1965 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.18.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Banner Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Banner by 1.8% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Banner by 19.5% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its stake in Banner by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banner by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Banner by 4.8% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

About Banner

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.