Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Rating Increased to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Janney Montgomery Scott currently has $71.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of BANR stock opened at $59.72 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.16. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.94. Banner has a 1-year low of $43.63 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banner in the first quarter valued at $34,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in shares of Banner by 69.1% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Banner during the 1st quarter worth approximately $352,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Banner by 53.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Banner by 39.8% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 12,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 3,681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.