Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.83.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BANR. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $67.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.84. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.89. Banner has a 12-month low of $51.14 and a 12-month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. Banner had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 21.15%. The firm had revenue of $162.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.96 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banner during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 69.1% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 816.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Banner by 4,612.0% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.