Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Aristotle Capital Boston LLC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC lowered its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,737 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $21,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BANR. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Banner during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Banner in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Banner by 167.0% during the 4th 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. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Stock Up 1.2 %

BANR stock opened at $63.13 on Friday. Banner Co. has a one year low of $44.59 and a one year high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.39 and its 200 day moving average is $67.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.