Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Stake Reduced by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 706,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,975 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 2.05% of Banner worth $35,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,097,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banner by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 262,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,055,000 after buying an additional 24,008 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 58.3% in the 1st quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 57,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in Banner by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 45,138 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 17,112 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Banner during the 1st quarter valued at $1,025,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR opened at $61.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $57.47 and its 200-day moving average is $50.28. Banner Co. has a 12-month low of $39.31 and a 12-month high of $61.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $149.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $149.66 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 20.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of Banner from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.

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