Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. Increases Position in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR)

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 178,956 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Banner accounts for approximately 2.2% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned about 0.52% of Banner worth $11,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BANR. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Banner by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $10,023,000. Amundi grew its position in Banner by 168.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 17,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 11,243 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in Banner by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 67,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,520,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BANR. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated 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. 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 report on Monday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $68.68 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $63.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.83. Banner Corporation has a 52 week low of $51.14 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49 and a beta of 0.89.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. Banner had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. Banner's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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