Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 512,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 107,474 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $34,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Banner by 10,213.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 628,426 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,619,000 after buying an additional 373,037 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,023,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 398,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,586,000 after buying an additional 114,731 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,075,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BANR shares. StockNews.com cut Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson increased their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $64.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.02. Banner Co. has a 12-month low of $44.59 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

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.