Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Receives $70.83 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BANR shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $130,554,000 after purchasing an additional 345,607 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 4.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,174 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,776,000 after buying an additional 59,653 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Banner by 122.8% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,142,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,888,000 after acquiring an additional 630,004 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Banner by 11.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 845,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,936,000 after acquiring an additional 88,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 738,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,300,000 after buying an additional 38,454 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Stock Performance

BANR traded up $0.49 on Friday, reaching $61.92. The company had a trading volume of 157,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,712. Banner has a 1 year low of $44.90 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.61.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is 37.72%.

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.