Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 53,413 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,413 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $20,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BANR. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Banner by 816.9% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BANR shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.83.

Banner Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $65.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banner Co. has a 52-week low of $44.59 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.99.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid 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 2.94%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.72%.

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.