New York State Teachers Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Banner Corporation $BANR

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 25.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,585 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,777 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Banner were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,503 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of Banner by 173.9% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 70,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,479,000 after acquiring an additional 44,597 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 39.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 39,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 26.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 141.4% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $63.65 on Thursday. Banner Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.15 and its 200 day moving average is $63.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.91.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The business had revenue of $168.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.52 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. This is an increase from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 34.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Banner in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 18th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $72.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Banner presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.40.

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.