Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.00.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Banner Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.57. 114,792 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's fifty day moving average is $70.34 and its 200 day moving average is $60.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.07. Banner has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Banner will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total transaction of $113,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the second quarter valued at $53,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Banner by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Banner during the second quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Banner during the third quarter worth about $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

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.