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

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banner from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st.

Banner Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Banner stock traded up $0.73 on Tuesday, hitting $63.13. The company had a trading volume of 170,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,869. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.39 and a 200-day moving average of $67.10. Banner has a 1 year low of $44.59 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $159.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Banner's payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 20.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,554,000 after buying an additional 345,607 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,111,000 after purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,300,000 after buying an additional 38,454 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Banner by 10,213.3% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,371,000 after buying an additional 628,426 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Banner by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,580,000 after buying an additional 70,544 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.