Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,990,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the January 15th total of 10,190,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,030,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BANC shares. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.18.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Banc of California by 34.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,534 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,573,000 after buying an additional 62,014 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted 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 worth $9,599,000 after acquiring an additional 535,654 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Banc of California by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,233,452 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,169,000 after acquiring an additional 44,951 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the third quarter worth approximately $2,223,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Banc of California by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 247,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,640,000 after acquiring an additional 63,780 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.9 %

Banc of California stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,012,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,965. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.88 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day moving average of $15.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78 and a beta of 1.14.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

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.