Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $59.64 and last traded at $61.14, with a volume of 209867 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Banner Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.58 and a 200-day moving average of $67.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Banner by 3.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Banner during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Banner by 816.9% during 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 period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Banner by 10,213.3% in 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 buying an additional 628,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Banner by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,413,000 after buying an additional 29,174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.