Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Price Target Lowered to $17.00 at Stephens

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Stephens from $18.00 to $17.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has an equal weight rating on the bank's stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup began coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Banc of California presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.20.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.02. The stock had a trading volume of 2,227,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,786. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $16.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.06. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.88 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. Equities analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently -9.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Hedge funds and other 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.