Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.20.

BANR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Banner from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Banner from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens lowered their price target on Banner from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd.

Banner Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $45.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $45.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.55. Banner has a 52-week low of $39.31 and a 52-week high of $55.66.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Banner by 24.1% in the first quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 21,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,026,000 after buying an additional 4,150 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner during the first quarter worth $1,064,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 2.1% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 138,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,882 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Banner by 3.9% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21,000 shares in 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.