Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $916,000 Investment in Banner Corporation $BANR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BANR. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 25,903 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Banner by 12.4% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $897,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 265.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 30,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after buying an additional 22,392 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,037,000 after acquiring an additional 27,899 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.00.

Banner Price Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $67.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.83. Banner Corporation has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $69.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

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

Banner Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 35.02%.

Banner Company Profile

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.