Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Upgraded by Barclays to "Overweight" Rating

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $18.00 price objective on the bank's stock, up from their prior price objective of $17.00. Barclays's price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.15% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BANC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Banc of California Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded down $0.21 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.37. 2,411,622 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,329,071. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $10.81 and a 1-year high of $16.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.61 and a beta of 1.14.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $121,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,311,842 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 84,432 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 5.1% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,943 shares of the bank's stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 5.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 239,129 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,637,000 after purchasing an additional 11,857 shares during the period. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% in the first quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,224,219 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,040,000 after purchasing an additional 22,500 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by 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.