Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 4,150 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,150 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.09% of Banner worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 167.0% in 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 period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of Banner stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $61.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 141,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,986. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banner Co. has a one year low of $44.90 and a one year high of $78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.90.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $159.72 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Banner's dividend 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.