Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

BANC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush raised their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.10.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC traded up $0.30 on Friday, reaching $16.00. 2,693,996 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,012,360. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week high of $18.08. 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 (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 589.8% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank's stock valued at $25,526,000 after buying an additional 1,481,692 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $21,207,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 93.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,476,387 shares of the bank's stock worth $36,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,839 shares in the last quarter. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter worth approximately $12,494,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Banc of California by 461.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 651,695 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,599,000 after purchasing an additional 535,654 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently 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.

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