Brokerages Set Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) PT at $70.83

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

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

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $61.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $61.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.90. Banner has a 1-year low of $44.59 and a 1-year high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.72 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Banner during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Banner by 53.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in Banner by 69.1% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.