Sei Investments Co. Trims Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Sei Investments Co. lowered its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 118,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,602 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Banner were worth $7,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Banner in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Banner by 167.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Banner by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Banner by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANR has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Banner Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $63.81 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.17. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.07. Banner Co. 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 announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Banner Co. 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, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Banner’s payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

About Banner

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.