NasdaqGS:BANRBanks
Banner (BANR) Stock Slips As Cost Creep Clouds Margin Strength
Banner stock slipped about 1.6% to US$70.64 after the Q2 print, which tells you investors were more uneasy about the profit squeeze than impressed by the underlying growth story. The headline is clear. Earnings per share eased to US$1.44 while the cost to income ratio climbed to 61.3%. At the same time net interest margin held at a solid 4.13% and loans reached roughly US$12b. The market is reacting to higher costs and softer quarterly profit, even as the core banking engine still looks...