Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Purchases 4,716 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,716 shares during the quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.69% of Banner worth $15,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Banner by 97.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 75,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,512,000 after acquiring an additional 37,390 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Banner by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,413,000 after purchasing an additional 29,174 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Banner by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 11,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Banner during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Banner by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $62.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.28 and a 200 day moving average of $67.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Co. has a 12-month low of $44.59 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Banner's payout ratio is 37.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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. StockNews.com raised Banner from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner 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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