MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Banner Corporation $BANR

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 1.4% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 13,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 26.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Banner by 13.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 5.0% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Banner by 20.1% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of Banner stock opened at $63.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Banner Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.01 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.94.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $168.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.52 million. Banner had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 10.32%. On average, analysts forecast that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BANR shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.40.

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.