Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,022 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 3.7% in 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. acquired a new position in Banner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Banner by 10,213.3% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,371,000 after acquiring an additional 628,426 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Banner by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,413,000 after acquiring an additional 29,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Banner by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of BANR stock opened at $63.13 on Friday. Banner Co. has a fifty-two week low of $44.59 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Banner 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.