William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Banner Corporation $BANR

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 709,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,283 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 2.08% of Banner worth $46,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BANR. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. purchased a new stake in Banner during the third quarter valued at about $16,500,000. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Banner during the 2nd quarter valued at about $423,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Banner by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 134,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,838,000 after buying an additional 17,067 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Banner by 86.8% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 59,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,846,000 after buying an additional 27,863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Banner in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,362,000. Institutional investors own 87.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BANR. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banner from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Banner in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Banner in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banner has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.17.

Banner Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of BANR opened at $58.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 0.90. Banner Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.01 and a twelve month high of $69.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.97.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $169.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.23 million. Banner had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 10.46%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Banner Corporation will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 3rd. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.46%.

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.