Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Hits New 52-Week High on Strong Earnings

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $15.69 and last traded at $15.47, with a volume of 310183 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.42.

The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -12.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANC. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.00.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,311,842 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth about $32,618,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Banc of California by 288.4% during the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,748,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,298,004 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,575,930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,180,000 after acquiring an additional 762,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Banc of California by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,182,000 after acquiring an additional 663,061 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.14.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.