Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Thursday morning.

BANR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson upped their target price 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 restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $62.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $61.84 and its 200 day moving average is $66.98. Banner has a twelve month low of $44.59 and a twelve month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Banner by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 13.1% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Banner by 53.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas raised its position in Banner by 69.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.