Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, May 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 836.0% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 20,190 shares in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the 4th quarter worth about $1,147,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 134,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,838,000 after acquiring an additional 17,067 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,439,000 after acquiring an additional 44,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 93.8% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 488,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,597,000 after purchasing an additional 236,394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $64.86 on Wednesday. Banner has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $69.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.37.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.21. Banner had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 23.24%.The firm had revenue of $168.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.60 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banner will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.02%.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.