Voya Investment Management LLC Increases Holdings in Banner Corporation $BANR

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Banner Corporation by 39.1% during the first quarter, purchasing an additional 11,089 shares and now owning about 0.11% of the company, valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• Banner Corporation reported earnings per share of $1.35 for the last quarter, beating estimates, and announced a $0.48 quarterly dividend, which represents a yield of 2.9%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Banner Corporation, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.17, reflecting cautious optimism about the company's future performance.

Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 39.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,477 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Banner worth $2,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 122.8% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,142,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,888,000 after purchasing an additional 630,004 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner during the first quarter worth approximately $40,078,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banner by 20.3% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,554,000 after purchasing an additional 345,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Banner by 86.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,898,000 after buying an additional 115,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Banner by 11.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 845,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $53,936,000 after buying an additional 88,056 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.17.

Banner Stock Down 0.0%

BANR traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, hitting $66.12. The company had a trading volume of 31,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,972. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Banner Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 21.15% and a return on equity of 10.06%. The firm had revenue of $162.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $167.96 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

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.