Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.00.

BANR has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of Banner stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Banner by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banner by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.11. 218,561 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 197,526. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Banner has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.09. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $213.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $152.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Banner's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.