Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 919 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 919 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Banner were worth $448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Banner by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the second quarter worth $152,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the third quarter valued at $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $75.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.47. Banner Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. Banner’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of Banner stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.