Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR opened at $68.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.81. Banner has a fifty-two week low of $51.14 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 20.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's payout ratio is 37.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 69.1% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 4,612.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% 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.

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