Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.1667.

Several equities analysts have commented on BANR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. acquired a new position in Banner in the third quarter valued at $16,500,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Banner by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 134,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,838,000 after acquiring an additional 17,067 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Banner by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 59,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,863 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,362,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,179,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,692,000 after acquiring an additional 36,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BANR opened at $58.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Banner has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $69.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.30 and its 200-day moving average is $63.39.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.09. Banner had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm had revenue of $169.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.23 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.46%.

Banner Company Profile

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.