Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

Stephens reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $82.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.80.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $70.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 1.09. Banner has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $78.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. Sell-side analysts expect that Banner will post 4.9 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banner by 79.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,132,000 after acquiring an additional 588,591 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in 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 worth $106,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,434 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Banner by 395.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after purchasing an additional 132,586 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Banner by 18.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 795,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,510,000 after buying an additional 123,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Banner during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,477,000. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.