Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 5,554 Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,554 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Banner worth $6,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 53.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in Banner by 69.1% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted 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 last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BANR shares. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $70.83.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.64. The company had a trading volume of 200,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,774. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.74. Banner Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $47.20 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. Banner had a return on equity of 9.95% and a net margin of 20.77%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's payout ratio is 37.72%.

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.