Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 878,500 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 832,300 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 198,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR traded down $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $43.13. The stock had a trading volume of 57,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,091. Banner has a twelve month low of $39.31 and a twelve month high of $55.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 1.03.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 24.61% and a return on equity of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $152.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.54 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Banner will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Banner by 247.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 641,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,370,000 after buying an additional 456,868 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 1st quarter valued at about $20,165,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,656,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Banner by 2,700.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 221,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,861,000 after acquiring an additional 213,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Banner by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 377,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,526,000 after acquiring an additional 163,811 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.75.

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.