Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $66.32 and traded as high as $70.95. Banner shares last traded at $70.73, with a volume of 537,321 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Banner in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on Banner in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Banner Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $172.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.54 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 23.55%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banner Corporation will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Banner by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,104,000 after acquiring an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Banner during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,508,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Banner by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 278,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,468,000 after purchasing an additional 22,889 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Banner by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 216,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,120,000 after purchasing an additional 10,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Banner in the 1st quarter valued at $11,860,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Banner

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Banner Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and community organizations.

Banner Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, construction and land development loans, commercial business financing, consumer loans and agricultural lending. Its services also include treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management, wealth management and other financial solutions designed for business and personal customers.

The company serves communities primarily across the Pacific Northwest and other western markets through a network of branches and digital banking channels.