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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Banner from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Banner from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Insider Transactions at Banner

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANR. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Banner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Banner by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Banner during the 3rd quarter worth $255,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $70.11. The stock had a trading volume of 218,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,526. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.67 and a 200-day moving average of $63.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.09. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $42.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.05.

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

Banner Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Banner’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

About Banner

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.