Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $2.54 Million Stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Banner worth $2,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,073,000 after buying an additional 11,808 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at $439,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Banner by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,413,000 after buying an additional 29,174 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Banner by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BANR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.00.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $70.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Banner Co. has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Banner

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.