Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 705,100 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 878,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 199,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banner

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Banner by 923.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banner during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 35,800.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Banner in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BANR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Banner from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Banner from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Banner from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banner presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.20.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of Banner stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $45.36. 109,740 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,197. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $45.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.55. Banner 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.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.92%.

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.