Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $76,000 Stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR - Free Report) by 84.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,195 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Banner were worth $76,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 5.5% during 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Banner by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised 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 valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BANR. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Banner from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Down 0.3 %

Banner stock opened at $62.98 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $44.59 and a twelve month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.06. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $159.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Banner's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.72%.

Banner 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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