Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Yousif Capital Management LLC

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Banner by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BANR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price 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. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Banner stock opened at $62.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Corporation has a 12-month low of $46.03 and a 12-month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $159.72 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 9.95%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 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.