Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Denali Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 80.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,300 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Banner by 79.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,132,000 after purchasing an additional 588,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Banner by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Banner by 395.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,894,000 after purchasing an additional 132,586 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Banner during the third quarter valued at $6,477,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Banner by 3.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,219,000 after buying an additional 43,398 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.20.

Banner Price Performance

BANR stock opened at $67.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.93. Banner Co. has a one year low of $42.00 and a one year high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.09.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

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.