Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 426,304 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 49,136 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 1.24% of Banner worth $28,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Banner by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $92,111,000 after purchasing an additional 49,457 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Banner during the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Banner by 816.9% during the 4th 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. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Banner by 10,213.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,371,000 after purchasing an additional 628,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Banner by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 134,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,951,000 after purchasing an additional 2,637 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on BANR. StockNews.com downgraded Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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 research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of Banner stock opened at $64.76 on Tuesday. Banner Co. has a one year low of $44.59 and a one year high of $78.05. The stock's fifty day moving average is $62.03 and its 200 day moving average is $67.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $159.72 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

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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