Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold”: Four of six analysts rate Banner Corporation a hold and two recommend buying, with an average 12-month price target of $72.75.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of BANR, with several major investors recently increasing their positions.
• Quarterly results slightly missed expectations: Banner reported $1.44 in EPS and $172.11 million in revenue, below estimates, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 2.8% yield.

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $72.75.

BANR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark began coverage on Banner in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banner from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banner by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,439,000 after purchasing an additional 44,249 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Banner by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,104,000 after purchasing an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Banner by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Banner by 19.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,878,000 after purchasing an additional 165,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC lifted its stake in Banner by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 749,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,938,000 after purchasing an additional 113,632 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Banner stock opened at $74.01 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.94. Banner has a 1-year low of $57.05 and a 1-year high of $74.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $172.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.54 million. Banner had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 10.72%. On average, analysts expect that Banner will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 4th. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.32%.

About Banner

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.

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