Banner Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.48 (NASDAQ:BANR)

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.48 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th.

Banner has increased its dividend by an average of 5.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Banner has a dividend payout ratio of 38.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Banner to earn $5.13 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.4%.

Banner Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Banner stock opened at $43.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Banner has a 12-month low of $39.31 and a 12-month high of $55.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.43.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $152.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.54 million. Banner had a net margin of 21.62% and a return on equity of 11.64%. On average, analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $53.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 4.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 23,587 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Banner by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 30,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,799,000 after buying an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Banner by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Banner by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 18,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Banner by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 96,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,628,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

About Banner

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.