Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $65.90 and traded as high as $70.87. Banner shares last traded at $70.82, with a volume of 270,186 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BANR. Benchmark initiated coverage on Banner in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Banner from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Banner from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banner from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Banner from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banner presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $72.75.

Banner Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $172.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $174.54 million. Banner had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 23.55%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banner Corporation will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 4th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Banner by 100.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 28,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14,367 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Banner in the second quarter valued at $20,508,000. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Banner by 400.6% in the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,449 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Banner by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,177,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,104,000 after buying an additional 18,077 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Banner by 71.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 69,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,205,000 after buying an additional 28,987 shares during the period. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banner

Banner Corporation (NASDAQ:BANR) is a bank holding company headquartered in Walla Walla, Washington. Through its principal subsidiary, Banner Bank, the company provides a range of banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and community organizations.

Banner Bank offers deposit products, residential and commercial real estate lending, construction and land development loans, commercial business financing, consumer loans and agricultural lending. Its services also include treasury management, online and mobile banking, cash management, wealth management and other financial solutions designed for business and personal customers.

The company serves communities primarily across the Pacific Northwest and other western markets through a network of branches and digital banking channels.