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

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BANR shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of BANR opened at $64.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. Banner has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $69.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $168.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.60 million. Banner had a net margin of 23.24% and a return on equity of 10.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that Banner will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is 35.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Banner by 54.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 7,828 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 19.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 4,877 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Banner by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the first quarter worth $248,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 116,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.