Critical Review: Banner (BANR) & Its Rivals

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Banner to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Banner shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Banner pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Banner pays out 35.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.1% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Banner lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Banner and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Banner	0	4	2	0	2.33
Banner Competitors	7464	30192	27759	1465	2.35

Banner presently has a consensus target price of $75.75, suggesting a potential upside of 4.72%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 13.92%. Given Banner’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Banner has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Risk and Volatility

Banner has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner’s competitors have a beta of 0.52, meaning that their average share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Banner and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Banner	22.81%	10.44%	1.25%
Banner Competitors	15.66%	9.44%	0.93%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Banner and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Banner	$877.77 million	$195.38 million	12.30
Banner Competitors	$9.95 billion	$2.42 billion	17.41

Banner’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Banner. Banner is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Banner competitors beat Banner on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

Banner Company Profile

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. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; construction, land, and land development loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; commercial business loans; agricultural loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and small business administration loans. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATMs, internet banking, remote deposit, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.