Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49,457 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 4.00% of Banner worth $92,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 79.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,132,000 after purchasing an additional 588,591 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 92,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,521,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $623,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $63.92 on Monday. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $68.45 and its 200 day moving average is $66.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 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.