Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $62.08 and traded as high as $67.28. Banner shares last traded at $66.69, with a volume of 274,661 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BANR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. DA Davidson upped their price target 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 objective on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Banner Price Performance

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’s 50 day moving average price is $70.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.08. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insider Activity at Banner

In related news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANR. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Banner by 287.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Banner by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Banner during the 2nd quarter valued at about $152,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Banner during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at about $255,000. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.