Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Banner’s price target to $78 from $75 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying approximately 10.6% upside. Analysts overall have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average target of $72.75.
• Banner shares rose 0.3% to $70.53, near the upper end of their 12-month range. The company’s latest quarterly results slightly missed expectations, with EPS of $1.44 versus the $1.46 consensus and revenue of $172.11 million versus $174.54 million expected.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 87.33%, with major investors including Vanguard, Dimensional Fund Advisors and The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increasing their positions in Banner.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $75.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price suggests a potential upside of 10.60% from the company's current price.

BANR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banner from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Banner in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $72.75.

Banner Trading Up 0.3%

BANR traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, reaching $70.53. The company had a trading volume of 60,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,385. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $66.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.83. Banner has a 12-month low of $57.05 and a 12-month high of $72.65.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Banner had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $172.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $174.54 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Banner will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BANR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Banner by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $240,439,000 after acquiring an additional 44,249 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 0.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,104,000 after acquiring an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banner by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $90,776,000 after purchasing an additional 6,835 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Banner by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,878,000 after purchasing an additional 165,557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in Banner by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 749,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,938,000 after purchasing an additional 113,632 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Company Profile

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.

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