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

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,808 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the third quarter valued at approximately $439,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 12.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after buying an additional 193,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Banner

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BANR opened at $70.11 on Friday. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.00.

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.