Analysts Set Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Target Price at $18.18

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.18.

BANC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered 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. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Banc of California by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Banc of California by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,082,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,830,643. Banc of California has a 12-month low of $11.88 and a 12-month high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day moving average is $16.00 and its 200-day moving average is $15.24.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

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.