Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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 note on Monday, April 21st.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banner by 122.8% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,142,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,888,000 after acquiring an additional 630,004 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Banner in the first quarter worth $40,078,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 628,426 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,619,000 after purchasing an additional 373,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the fourth quarter worth $10,023,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $61.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.93. Banner has a one year low of $44.59 and a one 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 announced 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 firm had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

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.