Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Shares Acquired by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 58.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.17% of Banner worth $2,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BANR. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banner during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Banner during the third quarter worth about $836,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Banner by 11.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 55,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,827 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Banner by 4.2% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Banner by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 315,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,351,000 after acquiring an additional 37,543 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Banner Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ BANR traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.51. 127,114 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 185,589. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $47.18. Banner Co. has a twelve month low of $39.31 and a twelve month high of $55.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.06.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $144.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.67 million. Banner had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 21.62%. Research analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens dropped their price target on Banner from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 8th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Banner from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Banner from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.20.

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.