Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Short Interest Down 20.7% in January

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 816,400 shares, a drop of 20.7% from the January 15th total of 1,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 224,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target 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, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Banner has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Banner Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR traded up $0.13 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 157,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.03 and a 200-day moving average of $65.22. Banner has a 12 month low of $42.00 and a 12 month high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banner will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Institutional Trading of Banner

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Banner in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 167.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Banner by 816.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Banner by 287.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.