Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 887,700 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the November 30th total of 734,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 234,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BANR shares. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.00.

Banner Price Performance

BANR traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.86. 233,785 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,580. Banner has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $78.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 2.3% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Banner by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banner by 2.2% in the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 33,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,973,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banner by 7.4% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.