Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 8,212 Shares of Banner Corporation $BANR

Peregrine Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 8.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 85,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,212 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $5,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 20,190 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,147,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Banner by 241.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 454,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,498,000 after acquiring an additional 321,522 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in Banner by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 488,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,597,000 after acquiring an additional 236,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on BANR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.00.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $67.83 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’s 50 day moving average price is $65.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.72. The company has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $168.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.60 million. Banner had a net margin of 23.24% and a return on equity of 10.77%. On average, analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 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.