Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 3,281 Shares of Banner Corporation $BANR

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,281 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.13% of Banner worth $2,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in 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 valued at $72,888,000 after purchasing an additional 630,004 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Banner during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,078,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Banner by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,554,000 after purchasing an additional 345,607 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Banner by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,898,000 after purchasing an additional 115,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Banner by 241.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 117,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,846,000 after purchasing an additional 83,140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Up 6.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $67.71 on Monday. Banner Corporation has a 52-week low of $53.78 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. Banner had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 21.15%.The firm had revenue of $162.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.96 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on BANR. DA Davidson upped their price target on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.17.

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.