Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Short Interest Up 7.9% in January

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,990,000 shares, a growth of 7.9% from the January 15th total of 10,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,062,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,568. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.32. Banc of California has a 12-month low of $11.88 and a 12-month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Banc of California by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Banc of California by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Banc of California by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.