Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Up 42.2% in March

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 898,462 shares, an increase of 42.2% from the February 26th total of 631,728 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 349,895 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, December 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banner currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Banner Price Performance

BANR opened at $59.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.06. Banner has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $69.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.09. Banner had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $169.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.23 million. Research analysts anticipate that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 241.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 454,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,498,000 after purchasing an additional 321,522 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in Banner during the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,500,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Banner by 19.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,878,000 after buying an additional 165,557 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 366,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,977,000 after acquiring an additional 138,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Banner by 307.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,380,000 after acquiring an additional 131,140 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.