Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.80, but opened at $15.26. Banc of California shares last traded at $15.15, with a volume of 222,600 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BANC. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James upgraded Banc of California from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.45.

Banc of California Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $14.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.88.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.42 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.61 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Banc of California's payout ratio is currently -12.01%.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 719,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 32.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 23,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 1.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 69,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Banc of California by 146.3% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Banc of California during the first quarter worth about $29,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.