Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.45.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted 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 report on Friday, September 20th.

Banc of California Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of BANC stock opened at $14.49 on Monday. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $9.96 and a fifty-two week high of $15.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.12 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. The business had revenue of $492.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Research analysts expect that Banc of California will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently -11.36%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at $10,077,564. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311,842 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth $32,618,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,992 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 288.4% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,748,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,587,000 after buying an additional 1,298,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at $12,185,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

About Banc of California

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.