Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 16,183 Shares of Banner Corporation $BANR

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 304,426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,183 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Banner were worth $18,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Banner by 241.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 454,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,498,000 after buying an additional 321,522 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its holdings in Banner by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 488,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,597,000 after acquiring an additional 236,394 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Banner by 19.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,011,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,878,000 after acquiring an additional 165,557 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 366,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,977,000 after acquiring an additional 138,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 307.8% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 173,742 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,380,000 after acquiring an additional 131,140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Down 0.8%

Banner stock opened at $69.96 on Thursday. Banner Corporation has a 12 month low of $57.05 and a 12 month high of $72.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $172.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.54 million. Banner had a net margin of 23.55% and a return on equity of 10.72%. Equities analysts predict that Banner Corporation will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 4th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Banner’s payout ratio is 34.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Banner in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.75.

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.