Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.70 and last traded at $11.86, with a volume of 221314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BANC. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price target on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.09.

Banc of California Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.33.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 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%. Research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 71.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 1,446.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,754,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $722,823,000 after purchasing an additional 43,730,207 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,377,000 after buying an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 2,119.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,477,000 after buying an additional 2,747,262 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 701.9% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 952,674 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,728,000 after acquiring an additional 833,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,913,012 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,716,000 after acquiring an additional 644,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.