Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 16.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 54,690 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.80% of Banner worth $13,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $12,097,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 262,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,055,000 after buying an additional 24,008 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Banner by 58.3% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 57,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after buying an additional 21,000 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Banner by 61.1% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 45,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after buying an additional 17,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Price Performance

BANR opened at $60.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Banner Co. has a 52-week low of $39.31 and a 52-week high of $61.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.41. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 1.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The company had revenue of $149.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.66 million. On average, analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banner currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.