The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $53.94 Million Position in Banner Corporation $BANR

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Banner Corporation by 11.6%, owning 845,790 shares valued at $53.9 million following the acquisition of 88,056 shares in the first quarter.
• Banner Corporation's stock was recently downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, while the average price target from analysts stands at $70.17.
• Banner Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.9%, and has a 36.57% payout ratio.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 845,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 88,056 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 2.45% of Banner worth $53,936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banner by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 171,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,942,000 after acquiring an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banner by 141.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the 1st quarter valued at about $352,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of Banner by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 129,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,233,000 after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Banner by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,572 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BANR. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.17.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock traded up $0.81 on Thursday, hitting $67.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 52,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $65.61 and its 200-day moving average is $63.85. Banner Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $53.78 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Banner's payout ratio is presently 36.57%.

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.