Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Banner, with four hold and two buy recommendations. The average 12-month price target is $73.75.
• Banner’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of expectations, reporting $1.44 in EPS versus a $1.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $172.11 million versus $174.54 million expected.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.52, equivalent to $2.08 annually and a 3.1% yield; institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of its shares.

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.75.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANR. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Banner in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Banner Price Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $67.40 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Banner has a 52 week low of $57.05 and a 52 week high of $74.84. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of 11.12 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.54 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 23.55%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banner will post 6.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. Banner's payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Banner by 0.8% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Banner during the 2nd quarter worth $20,508,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 278,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,468,000 after buying an additional 22,889 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 4.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 216,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,120,000 after buying an additional 10,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the first quarter valued at about $11,860,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Banner Company Profile

Banner Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Its principal subsidiary, Banner Bank, is a community bank that provides financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Banner Bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, construction loans, business and consumer loans, mortgage services, treasury management and wealth management solutions. The bank also serves small and mid-sized businesses through commercial banking products and relationship-based financial services.

Founded in the Pacific Northwest, Banner has expanded its banking operations across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Utah.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.