Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Invests $2.86 Million in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,864,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.12% of Banner at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Banner by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Banner by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Banner by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Up 2.6 %

Banner stock opened at $61.30 on Wednesday. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $43.63 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

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.

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