Banner Corporation $BANR Position Reduced by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Banner Corporation by 3.9%, owning approximately 6.41% of the company after selling 91,004 shares.
• Banner Corporation reported a Q2 EPS of $1.35, beating estimates of $1.32, with a net margin of 21.15% and total revenue of $162.98 million.
• The company issued a quarterly dividend of $0.48 with a yield of 3.0%, and has a dividend payout ratio of 36.57%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,217,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 91,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.41% of Banner worth $141,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banner in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 53.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 69.1% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banner by 816.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 13.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $64.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.93. Banner Corporation has a 1 year low of $53.78 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. Banner had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 21.15%.The firm had revenue of $162.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.96 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BANR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.17.

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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