Banner Corporation $BANR Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Banner Corporation by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 23,417 shares to own a total of 109,292 shares valued at approximately $6.97 million.
• Banner Corporation recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48, yielding 3.0% annually, with a payout ratio of 36.57%.
• Analyst ratings are mixed for Banner, with one sell rating, two hold ratings, and three buy ratings, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $70.17.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,417 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Banner worth $6,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 122.8% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,142,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,888,000 after buying an additional 630,004 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,078,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $130,554,000 after buying an additional 345,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 86.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,898,000 after buying an additional 115,238 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 241.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 117,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,846,000 after buying an additional 83,140 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BANR shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.17.

Banner Stock Performance

BANR traded up $0.24 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $64.35. 108,524 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 222,017. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.93. Banner Corporation has a 1-year low of $53.78 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. The business 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Banner's payout ratio is presently 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.