Short Interest in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Drops By 20.7%

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 816,400 shares, a decrease of 20.7% from the January 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 224,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANR. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.20.

Banner Stock Performance

BANR stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.66. 157,535 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,441. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.14. Banner has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.09.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. On average, analysts expect that Banner will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Banner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Banner in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 816.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. 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.