Kestrel Investment Management Corp Trims Stock Position in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Kestrel Investment Management Corp cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Banner comprises approximately 2.4% of Kestrel Investment Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Kestrel Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.19% of Banner worth $3,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BANR. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Banner in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Banner in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banner by 126.7% in the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in Banner by 923.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Banner in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 87.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $54.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Banner from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.20.

Banner Price Performance

Banner stock traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.94. The company had a trading volume of 353,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,710. Banner Co. has a 1 year low of $39.31 and a 1 year high of $55.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.43.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. Banner had a net margin of 21.62% and a return on equity of 11.64%. The company had revenue of $152.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.54 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Banner Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.