Versor Investments LP Takes Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $439,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the first quarter worth $1,025,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 717,058 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,419,000 after buying an additional 25,525 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Banner in the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,931,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,817 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 7,467 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banner Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of BANR traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.52. The company had a trading volume of 136,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,223. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Banner Co. has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $77.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.34.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Banner's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Banner from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.60.

Insider Transactions at Banner

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

Banner 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.