Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Raised to "Buy" at Janney Montgomery Scott

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $71.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock. Janney Montgomery Scott's target price points to a potential upside of 14.04% from the stock's current price.

BANR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Performance

BANR stock traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $62.26. The stock had a trading volume of 207,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,164. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.94. 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 fifty-two week low of $43.63 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.11.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Analysts predict that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Banner by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 28,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Banner by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 19,055 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banner in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in Banner by 69.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Banner during the first quarter worth $352,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.