Banner Corporation
(
BANR
) has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for seven straight
quarters with an average surprise of 130.2%, and now it's preparing
to release its third-quarter results in less than two weeks. BANR
is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) commercial bank that hit a new
52-week high on October 10. It also has a solid year-to-date return
of 60.0% and an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 6%.
Q3 Release Coming Up
Banner Corporation is expected to release its third quarter results
on October 24. The Zacks Consensus Estimates are for 48 cents per
share on revenue of $50.0 million.
On July 25, Banner Corporation reported second quarter 2012
earnings per share of 58 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus
Estimate by 114.8%.
Net interest income climbed 15.4% year over year to $38.3 million.
Net interest margin expanded 17 basis points (bps) to 4.26%.
Additionally, the company's other operating expenses declined 11.4%
to $35.7 million. However, the other operating loss recorded was
$9.1 million, compared with income of $9.3 million in the
prior-year quarter.
Credit metrics continued to improve at Banner Corporation.
Provision for loan losses decreased on a year-over-year basis, with
net charge-offs declining. Net charge-offs were 0.16% of average
loans outstanding, down 25 bps from the year-ago quarter. Provision
for loan losses decreased 50.0% from the year-ago quarter to $4
million.
Earnings Momentum on the Rise
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 advanced 83.8% to $2.61 per
share over the last 90 days. For 2013, the Zacks Consensus Estimate
climbed 39.6% to $1.48 per share.
Valuation Looks Attractive
Banner Corporation currently trades at 10.7x 12-month forward
earnings, a 17% discount to the peer group average of 12.9x. Its
price to book ratio of 1.1 is in line with the peer group average.
The company has a trailing 12-month ROE of 7.3%, compared with the
peer group average of 7.0%. This implies that the company reinvests
its earnings more efficiently than its peer group.
Chart Shows Strength
Banner Corporation has witnessed strong price momentum since the
second quarter earnings release. Moreover, the company has been
continuously outperforming its 200-day and 50-day moving averages
along with S&P 500 since July 25. The year-to-date return for
the stock is 60.0%, compared with the S&P 500's return of
13.9%.
Banner Corporation, the holding company for Banner Bank and
Islanders Bank, provides various banking products and services. The
company was founded in 1890 and conducts operations for
individuals, businesses and public sector entities in the United
States. Banner Bank operates through 86 branch offices and 7 loan
production offices in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, while Islanders
Bank conducts business from 3 locations in San Juan County,
Washington. With a market capital of about $537.3 million, Banner
Corporation competes with Mutualfirst Financial Inc. (
MFSF
), among others.
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