Petiole USA ltd Sells 19,500 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Petiole USA ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 42,882 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,500 shares during the period. Banner accounts for about 1.7% of Petiole USA ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Petiole USA ltd owned 0.12% of Banner worth $2,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Banner in the first quarter valued at about $1,025,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in Banner by 3.7% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 717,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,419,000 after buying an additional 25,525 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Banner in the third quarter valued at about $439,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 2.7% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 203,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,115,000 after purchasing an additional 5,380 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 79.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,132,000 after purchasing an additional 588,591 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on BANR. Raymond James raised their price target on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Banner Price Performance

NASDAQ BANR traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.52. The company had a trading volume of 176,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,655. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.07. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. Banner's dividend 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.