Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR – Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 898,462 shares, an increase of 42.2% from the February 26th total of 631,728 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 349,895 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. bought a new stake in Banner during the third quarter worth about $16,500,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $8,838,000 after purchasing an additional 17,067 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Banner by 86.8% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 59,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,846,000 after purchasing an additional 27,863 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banner during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,362,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,179,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,692,000 after buying an additional 36,940 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
BANR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Banner from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Banner currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.17.
Banner Price Performance
NASDAQ:BANR opened at $59.74 on Friday. Banner has a 52-week low of $54.01 and a 52-week high of $69.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.72 and a 200 day moving average of $63.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.88.
Banner (NASDAQ:BANR – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.09. Banner had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 22.26%.The business had revenue of $169.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.23 million. On average, research analysts expect that Banner will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Banner Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is 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.
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