Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 701,100 shares, a drop of 16.8% from the October 15th total of 842,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 220,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $73.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 225,637. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.43 and a 200-day moving average of $55.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.04. Banner has a 12-month low of $42.00 and a 12-month high of $77.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.12. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $213.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised 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. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Insider Activity at Banner

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 owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banner by 100.9% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Banner during the second quarter worth about $53,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd 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 period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banner by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 2nd quarter valued at about $152,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.