Short Interest in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Grows By 13.8%

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the December 15th total of 887,700 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 233,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Banner Stock Up 0.4 %

Banner stock opened at $70.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Banner has a twelve month low of $42.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.85.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. The firm had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.95 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total transaction of $113,445.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $209,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.