Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 4,716 Shares of Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Banner were worth $6,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Banner in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Banner by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Banner by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Banner by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $67.00 price target on Banner in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banner has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.20.

Banner Stock Performance

NASDAQ BANR opened at $69.00 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.09. 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 52-week low of $42.00 and a 52-week high of $78.05.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Banner Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

Banner Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.34%.

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.