Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Down 20.7% in January

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 816,400 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the January 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 224,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Banner Trading Up 0.2 %

Banner stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.66. 157,535 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,441. 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 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.22.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. On average, analysts anticipate that Banner will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 39.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banner by 10,213.3% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 634,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,371,000 after purchasing an additional 628,426 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Banner by 79.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,328,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,132,000 after buying an additional 588,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Banner by 12.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth $10,023,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 395.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,894,000 after acquiring an additional 132,586 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

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.