Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.20.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Banner during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Banner during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 167.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Banner by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $64.01 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.08 and a 200 day moving average of $66.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.07. Banner has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month 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 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Banner’s payout ratio is 39.34%.

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.