Which Is a Better Investment, Banner Corp or Hilltop Holdings Inc. Stock?

By Cynthia McLaughlin
September 03, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation

Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking services. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, term, agricultural and commercial real estate, equipment loans, and other lending products; and mortgage, commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. It provides treasury management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, and overdraft privilege services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts services, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; advisory services and products for derivatives and commodities; agricultural insurance; and sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products; and provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, jumbo, new construction, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, including owner-occupied, investment properties, and multifamily residential real estate loans; one- to four-family residential real estate lending; construction, land, and land development loans; commercial business loans; agricultural mortgage and business loans; consumer and other loans, such as home equity lines of credit, automobile, and boat and recreational vehicle loans, as well as loans secured by deposit accounts; and loan solicitation and processing services. In addition, it provides electronic and digital banking services comprising debit cards and ATM programs, internet banking, remote deposit capture, and mobile banking services. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Walla Walla, Washington.

Latest Banks and Hilltop Holdings Inc., Banner Corporation Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Hilltop Holdings Inc. had a $2.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $750.0 million. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s stock is up 14.7% in 2026, up 0.9% in the previous five trading days and up 10.34% in the past year.

Currently, Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.3. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 12.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.407 per share for the current fiscal year. Hilltop Holdings Inc. currently has a 2.3% dividend yield.

As of September 2, 2026, Banner Corporation had a $2.4 billion market cap, putting it in the 56th percentile of all stocks. Banner Corporation’s stock is up 13.7% in 2026, up 1.5% in the previous five trading days and up 4.71% in the past year.

Currently, Banner Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 11.6. Banner Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $671.6 million with a 31.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.192 per share for the current fiscal year. Banner Corporation currently has a 3.0% dividend yield.

How We Compare Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Hilltop Holdings Inc. HTH A
Banner Corporation BANR B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Value Score of 88, which is Deep Value. Banner Corporation has a Value Score of 79, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: Hilltop Holdings Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, Hilltop Holdings Inc. is considered to have better value than Banner Corporation. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, Hilltop Holdings Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Hilltop Holdings Inc. HTH D
Banner Corporation BANR D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Quality Score of 21, which is Weak. Banner Corporation has a Quality Score of 34, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation is the better investment when it comes to quality.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Hilltop Holdings Inc. HTH C
Banner Corporation BANR C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 55, which is Neutral. Banner Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 53, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation has an Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade that could be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation is the better investment when it comes to estimate revisions.

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Other Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation Grades

In addition to Estimate Revisions, Quality and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Hilltop Holdings Inc. or Banner Corporation Stock?

Overall, Hilltop Holdings Inc. stock has a Value Score of 88, Estimate Revisions Score of 55 and Quality Score of 21.

Banner Corporation stock has a Value Score of 79, Estimate Revisions Score of 53 and Quality Score of 34.

Comparing Hilltop Holdings Inc. and Banner Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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