Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.1667.

BANR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

Banner Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of BANR opened at $65.22 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.33 and its 200 day moving average is $63.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.95. Banner has a 12-month low of $54.01 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,942,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Banner by 173.9% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 70,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after buying an additional 44,597 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Banner by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 39,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Banner during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.