Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Share Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $62.08 and traded as high as $67.28. Banner shares last traded at $66.69, with a volume of 274,661 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock 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 lifted their target price on 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 assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banner presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Banner Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total transaction of $113,445.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 2.3% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 19.5% during 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 last quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Banner by 7.4% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 10,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

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.