Wall Street Zen Downgrades Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) to Sell

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $70.17.

Banner Trading Up 1.0%

Banner stock opened at $62.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 0.93. Banner has a 12-month low of $52.86 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.39.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $162.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.96 million. Banner had a net margin of 21.15% and a return on equity of 10.06%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banner in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Banner by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in Banner by 69.1% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Banner by 816.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Banner by 4,612.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.