Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 887,700 shares, an increase of 20.9% from the November 30th total of 734,300 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 234,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Banner Trading Down 1.9 %

BANR stock traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 233,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,580. Banner has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.10. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.07.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $213.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BANR shares. Raymond James upped their price objective on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total transaction of $113,445.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,073,000 after buying an additional 11,808 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the third quarter valued at about $439,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 12.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after buying an additional 193,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 79.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,132,000 after acquiring an additional 588,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Company 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.