Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives $17.30 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.30.

BANC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays raised Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC opened at $17.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.22. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $11.36 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at $10,077,564. This trade represents a 9.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 32.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter worth $132,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.