MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 10,435 Banner Corporation $BANR

MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $633,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 836.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 20,190 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banner during the fourth quarter worth about $1,147,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Banner by 241.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 454,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,498,000 after purchasing an additional 321,522 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banner by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,837,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $240,439,000 after purchasing an additional 44,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in Banner by 93.8% during the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 488,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,597,000 after purchasing an additional 236,394 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BANR. Weiss Ratings raised Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Banner from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.00.

Banner Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:BANR opened at $66.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.72. Banner Corporation has a 52-week low of $57.05 and a 52-week high of $69.83.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $168.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.60 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 23.24%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Banner Corporation will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This is a positive change from Banner’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.02%.

Banner Profile

Banner Corporation, through its principal subsidiary Banner Bank, operates as a regional commercial bank headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 2000 as a bank holding company, Banner traces its origins to community banking roots in Eastern Washington dating back to the late 19th century. Over the past two decades, the company has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, establishing a strong presence throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services for individual and business clients.