Norges Bank Invests $6.08 Million in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 90,980 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,075,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.26% of Banner at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 395.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,894,000 after acquiring an additional 132,586 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Banner by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 14,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Banner by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Banner by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,512,000 after buying an additional 37,390 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,073,000 after buying an additional 11,808 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.20.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of Banner stock traded up $1.61 on Tuesday, reaching $59.73. 23,619 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 210,163. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $64.51 and its 200-day moving average is $67.12. Banner Co. has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is 39.34%.

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.