Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three 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 brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.20.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Banner by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,334,000 after buying an additional 193,434 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,619,000 after acquiring an additional 373,037 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,111,000 after purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Banner by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,073,000 after purchasing an additional 11,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Banner by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,300,000 after purchasing an additional 38,454 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $67.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $69.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.03. Banner has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. Analysts expect that Banner will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

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.