Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $70.11. The company had a trading volume of 218,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,526. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.67 and a 200 day moving average of $63.09. 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.

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

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Banner by 1.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,361,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,236,000 after purchasing an additional 37,780 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Banner by 223.1% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 54,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,710,000 after buying an additional 37,700 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banner in the 2nd quarter valued at about $394,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Banner by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 75,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,762,000 after acquiring an additional 5,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 113.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,570,000 after acquiring an additional 38,273 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.