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

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 13.8% from the December 31st total of 887,700 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BANR shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.20.

Insider Transactions at Banner

In other news, VP James P.G. Mclean sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 21,868 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,653,876.84. The trade was a 6.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banner

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANR. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Banner in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Banner by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 19.5% in 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 last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of BANR stock opened at $70.67 on Monday. Banner has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $78.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 10.03%. Analysts forecast that Banner will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

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.