Fmr LLC Acquires 132,586 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 395.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 132,586 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 0.48% of Banner worth $9,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 1.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $859,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 19.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 4.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 2.2% during 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 buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $72.03. 257,879 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 198,053. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $78.05. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 1.07.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANR. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Raymond James raised 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. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Banner presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $67.00.

Insider Activity

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banner 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.