Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 718 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Banner were worth $624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BANR. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Banner by 18.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 795,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,510,000 after purchasing an additional 123,903 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 607,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,170,000 after buying an additional 109,457 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the first quarter worth $4,931,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. increased its position in Banner by 35.5% during the first quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 197,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,483,000 after acquiring an additional 51,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Banner by 113.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,915 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,570,000 after acquiring an additional 38,273 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Up 14.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ BANR opened at $74.78 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $41.92 and a 12-month high of $75.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.04.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $152.95 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 20.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BANR. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott cut Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.60.

Banner 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.