Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Stake Lessened by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 757,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,247 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 2.20% of Banner worth $50,594,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BANR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Banner by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,619,000 after purchasing an additional 373,037 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,111,000 after acquiring an additional 49,457 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,300,000 after acquiring an additional 38,454 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 10,213.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,371,000 after purchasing an additional 628,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Banner by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,413,000 after purchasing an additional 29,174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on BANR shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banner presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Performance

BANR opened at $61.14 on Thursday. Banner Co. has a 1-year low of $43.93 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. Banner’s payout ratio is 37.72%.

Banner 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.