Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives $71.17 Average PT from Analysts

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.1667.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 241.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 454,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,498,000 after buying an additional 321,522 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new position in Banner in the third quarter valued at about $16,500,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Banner by 19.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,878,000 after buying an additional 165,557 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Banner by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 366,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,977,000 after acquiring an additional 138,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Banner by 307.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,380,000 after purchasing an additional 131,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of Banner stock opened at $60.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.16. Banner has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $69.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.88.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.09. Banner had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 22.26%.The company had revenue of $169.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.23 million. Equities analysts forecast that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.46%.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.