Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $2.77 Million Holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of Banner worth $2,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 28.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 373,037 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,111,000 after purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% during the fourth 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 period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 10,213.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,371,000 after acquiring an additional 628,426 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Banner by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,951 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,580,000 after acquiring an additional 70,544 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $64.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.02. Banner Co. has a 52 week low of $44.59 and a 52 week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BANR. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report 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 target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Banner currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.83.

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.