SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stake in Banner Corporation $BANR

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 836.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,190 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.07% of Banner worth $1,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 3.2% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,179,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,692,000 after purchasing an additional 36,940 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Banner by 19.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 709,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,483,000 after buying an additional 84,283 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Banner by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 391,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,627,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Banner by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 351,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,558,000 after acquiring an additional 80,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Banner from $67.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Banner Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ BANR opened at $62.68 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.85. Banner Corporation has a one year low of $54.01 and a one year high of $69.83.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.46%.

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.