Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives $22.62 Average PT from Analysts

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.6250.

Several equities analysts have commented on BANC shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Finally, Brean Capital lowered Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $192,900.30. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 45,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth about $462,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,970,000 after buying an additional 438,320 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 10.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,640,000 after buying an additional 600,791 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 147.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after buying an additional 3,645,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,010,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,938,000 after buying an additional 181,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of BANC opened at $18.54 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.13 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $21.93. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.32 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.68 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 Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -114.29%.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc is the holding company for Banc of California, a relationship-focused financial institution headquartered in California. The bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, individuals and families, with a focus on supporting the state’s local communities and economy.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other cash-management services.