Kennedy Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 80,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,621 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $5,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 3.0% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Banner by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banner by 167.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Banner in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banner Stock Performance

Banner stock opened at $56.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Banner Co. has a 1-year low of $42.00 and a 1-year high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.11. Banner had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 20.28%. On average, analysts expect that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on BANR shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Banner in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.20.

Banner 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.