Brokerages Set Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Price Target at $70.83

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.83.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Banner from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $77.00) on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Banner from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, April 21st.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $66.71 on Friday. Banner has a twelve month low of $51.14 and a twelve 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 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.82.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $159.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $159.72 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 9.95%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Banner will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 29th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Banner during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Banner by 53.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in Banner by 69.1% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Banner by 4,612.0% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.