Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given 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 $16.71.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, January 29th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $15.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.80 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.03. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $9.72 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported ($4.55) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($4.27). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 44.04% and a positive return on equity of 1.14%. The firm had revenue of $193.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.40 per share, with a total value of $214,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 7.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 227,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,412,000 after purchasing an additional 68,518 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 583,011 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,286,000 after purchasing an additional 8,380 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 51.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 34,077 shares of the bank’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 11,557 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 47,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 5,255 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.