Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Update

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the December 31st total of 887,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Banner during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Banner during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Banner by 287.1% during 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. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Banner by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR opened at $70.67 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Banner has a 1 year low of $42.00 and a 1 year high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. Analysts predict that Banner will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BANR shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

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.