Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Up 20.9% in December

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 887,700 shares, an increase of 20.9% from the November 30th total of 734,300 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 234,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Banner Price Performance

NASDAQ:BANR traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $66.83. The company had a trading volume of 53,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,596. Banner has a 52 week low of $42.00 and a 52 week high of $78.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.10.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.95 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banner will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Banner by 287.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 2nd quarter valued at about $152,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner during the third quarter worth about $255,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.