Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports 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 Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Banner Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Banner stock opened at $67.57 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.64. Banner has a 1 year low of $42.00 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.07.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Banner during the second quarter worth $53,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Banner in the second quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Banner in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.