Analysts Set Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Target Price at $70.17

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $70.1667.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Banner from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th.

Banner Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Banner stock opened at $65.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.31 and its 200 day moving average is $63.83. Banner has a twelve month low of $54.01 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $162.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.96 million. Banner had a net margin of 21.15% and a return on equity of 10.06%. Research analysts anticipate that Banner 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, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.57%.

Institutional Trading of Banner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banner by 20.3% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,047,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,554,000 after buying an additional 345,607 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banner by 4.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,439,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $91,776,000 after buying an additional 59,653 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Banner by 3.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,179,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,692,000 after buying an additional 36,940 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Banner by 19.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,878,000 after purchasing an additional 165,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 866,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,921 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.