Wall Street Zen Downgrades Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) from a "hold" rating to a "sell," reflecting concerns about the company's performance.
• While one research analyst rated the stock as sell, the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a price target of $70.17.
• Banner reported earnings of $1.35 per share in its last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, though its revenue fell short of projections.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Banner from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $70.17.

Banner Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.96. The stock had a trading volume of 33,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Banner has a 1 year low of $53.22 and a 1 year high of $78.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.93.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $162.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.96 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Banner during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Banner by 53.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in Banner by 69.1% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Banner by 816.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in Banner by 4,612.0% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company's stock.

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.