Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,361,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,780 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.86% of Banner worth $117,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,097,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Banner by 2,700.2% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 221,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,861,000 after buying an additional 213,342 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Banner by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 607,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,170,000 after acquiring an additional 109,457 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Banner in the first quarter valued at about $4,931,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Banner by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 820,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,947,000 after buying an additional 70,143 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banner Price Performance

Shares of Banner stock opened at $61.29 on Monday. Banner Co. has a 1 year low of $39.31 and a 1 year high of $61.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $57.47 and a 200 day moving average of $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 10.89%. The business had revenue of $149.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of Banner from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Banner from $51.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.00.

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.