Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 887,700 shares, a growth of 20.9% from the November 30th total of 734,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 234,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Banner Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 233,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.10. Banner has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $152.95 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banner

In other Banner news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.63, for a total value of $113,445.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANR. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Banner by 19.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Banner during the second quarter worth $152,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. 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.