Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BANR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Banner Price Performance

BANR opened at $67.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.75. Banner has a twelve month low of $57.05 and a twelve month high of $69.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $168.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.60 million. Banner had a net margin of 23.24% and a return on equity of 10.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banner will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 35.02%.

Institutional Trading of Banner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Banner by 54.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 22,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,412,000 after buying an additional 7,828 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banner by 19.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 29,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 4,877 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Banner by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Banner during the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 116,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,059 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.