Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 82,554 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,308,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 82,554 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 6.70% of Banner worth $154,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banner by 816.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 46.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banner from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banner has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Trading Down 0.7 %

Banner stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.14. 209,867 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,609. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banner Co. has a 52 week low of $43.93 and a 52 week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million for 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 last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.