Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,701,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 373,037 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 4.94% of Banner worth $113,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BANR. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,334,000 after acquiring an additional 193,434 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 166,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,894,000 after acquiring an additional 132,586 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 398,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,586,000 after acquiring an additional 114,731 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banner during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,477,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,379,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,111,000 after acquiring an additional 49,457 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Trading Down 1.4 %

BANR opened at $64.83 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.38. Banner Co. has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $78.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.09.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released 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 expect that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BANR shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

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.