Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.1667.

BANR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, December 1st. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Banner from $73.00 to $69.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banner in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Banner in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Banner by 26.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the 2nd quarter worth $99,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

Banner stock opened at $64.28 on Friday. Banner has a fifty-two week low of $54.01 and a fifty-two week high of $72.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.91.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 10.32%. The firm had revenue of $168.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.52 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.43%.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.