Short Interest in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Rises By 10.4%

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 814,200 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the August 15th total of 737,800 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 183,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $58.29. 176,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 184,681. The business’s 50 day moving average is $56.74 and its 200-day moving average is $49.91. Banner has a 1 year low of $39.31 and a 1 year high of $61.77. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The firm had revenue of $149.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.66 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth $12,097,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Banner by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 262,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,055,000 after acquiring an additional 24,008 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth $1,115,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in Banner by 58.3% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 57,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Banner by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 45,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,418,000 after acquiring an additional 17,112 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.