Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $1.45 Million Position in Banner Corporation $BANR

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,604 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,450,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.07% of Banner at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Banner by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Banner by 4,612.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Banner during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Banner by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the second quarter valued at about $212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BANR shares. Weiss Ratings cut Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.40.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR opened at $61.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Banner Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.01 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.07.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $168.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $171.52 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 21.80%. Sell-side analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 4th. Banner’s payout ratio is 36.43%.

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.