Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 6,431 Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR)

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its stake in Banner Corporation by 5.5%, selling 6,431 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with approximately 111,339 shares valued at about $7.1 million.
• Banner Corporation reported earnings of $1.35 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue of $162.98 million fell short of estimates.
• Institutional investors hold a significant portion of Banner Corporation's stock, with 87.33% ownership, signaling strong institutional interest in the financial services provider's performance.

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its holdings in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,431 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.32% of Banner worth $7,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Banner by 20.3% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $130,554,000 after acquiring an additional 345,607 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 487,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,580,000 after purchasing an additional 70,544 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 237,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,840,000 after purchasing an additional 4,716 shares during the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its position in shares of Banner by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 178,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,412,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BANR shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banner from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.17.

Banner Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BANR stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $63.13. The company had a trading volume of 91,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,685. Banner Corporation has a 1-year low of $52.73 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.25 and a 200 day moving average of $64.51.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

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

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.