Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the December 31st total of 887,700 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BANR. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.20.

Banner Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ BANR traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 78,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 221,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Banner has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.09.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. Research analysts expect that Banner will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Banner by 287.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Banner by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

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.