Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.50.

BANC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Brean Capital cut Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 27th.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $18.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.53 and a beta of 0.77. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $16.12 and a 52 week high of $21.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 8.51% and a negative net margin of 0.58%. The company had revenue of $303.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.70 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -141.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $192,900.30. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,419. This trade represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $462,252,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Banc of California by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,640,000 after buying an additional 600,791 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Banc of California by 147.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,070,000 after buying an additional 3,645,579 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Banc of California by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,370,000 after buying an additional 343,320 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banc of California by 5.6% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,302 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,707,000 after buying an additional 77,012 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Banc of California, N.A., provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individuals. The bank operates as a full-service commercial bank, offering deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, home lending, treasury management, cash-management services and online and mobile banking.

The company primarily serves customers throughout California, with operations and relationships extending into select western markets.