Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $73.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $59.72 on Monday. Banner has a 52 week low of $43.63 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $63.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Banner in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.