Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

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

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their target price 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 upgraded Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This trade represents a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,597,751 shares of the bank's stock valued at $161,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,941 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 25.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,376 shares of the bank's stock worth $41,182,000 after buying an additional 663,061 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 93.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,476,387 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,839 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 3.7% during the third quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,060,285 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,348,000 after acquiring an additional 74,039 shares during the period. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 589.8% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481,692 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Banc of California stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,020,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,360,197. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $11.36 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.09 and a beta of 1.13.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently -9.37%.

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.