Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Down 16.8% in October

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during 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. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 220,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of BANR opened at $73.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.54. Banner has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $77.01.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $213.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $152.95 million. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Banner will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 5th. Banner’s payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 target price on Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banner

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its position in Banner by 2.3% during the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Banner by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Banner by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $859,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,443,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

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.