Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has a $65.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their previous price target of $77.00.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on BANR. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

BANR opened at $59.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.16. Banner has a 12-month low of $43.63 and a 12-month high of $78.05.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Banner by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,073,000 after purchasing an additional 11,808 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,111,000 after purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Banner by 10,213.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,371,000 after buying an additional 628,426 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Banner by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,413,000 after buying an additional 29,174 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.