Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Purchases 22,889 Shares of Banner Corporation $BANR

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 278,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,889 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $17,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $240,439,000 after purchasing an additional 44,249 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,158,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $135,284,000 after acquiring an additional 5,552 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,776,000 after acquiring an additional 6,835 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 19.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,878,000 after acquiring an additional 165,557 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 749,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,938,000 after acquiring an additional 113,632 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banner Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of BANR stock opened at $64.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Banner Corporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $69.83. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.87 and its 200 day moving average is $63.59.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $168.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.60 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Corporation will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Banner Profile

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.