Stephens Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Banner (NASDAQ:BANR)

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Stephens in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $82.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also commented on BANR. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banner has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.80.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $1.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $71.24. 59,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 238,732. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.56. Banner has a 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 directly owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Banner by 79.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,132,000 after acquiring an additional 588,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Banner by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after purchasing an additional 193,434 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after buying an additional 132,586 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Banner by 18.4% in the second 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 position in Banner in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,477,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.