Analysts Set Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Target Price at $67.00

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.20.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BANR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, 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.

Banner Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $69.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.76. Banner has a 12-month low of $42.00 and a 12-month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.11%. On average, research analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.34%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Banner by 1.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,236,000 after buying an additional 37,780 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 223.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after purchasing an additional 37,700 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 2nd quarter valued at about $394,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Banner by 7.6% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 75,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,762,000 after purchasing an additional 5,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Banner by 113.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,570,000 after purchasing an additional 38,273 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.