Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Holdings in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Banner Co. (NASDAQ:BANR) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 97,629 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.47% of Banner worth $10,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Banner by 3.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,330,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,219,000 after purchasing an additional 43,398 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Banner by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 823,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,073,000 after purchasing an additional 11,808 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Banner by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,413,000 after buying an additional 29,174 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Banner by 12.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,785,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $106,334,000 after buying an additional 193,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Banner by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. 87.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banner Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of BANR stock opened at $63.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.83. Banner Co. has a 12-month low of $42.00 and a 12-month high of $78.05. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.07.

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, 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Banner Co. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banner Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. Banner’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on BANR shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Banner in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Banner from $69.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Banner from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banner currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.20.

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.