Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.95.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banc of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC opened at $19.46 on Wednesday. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $20.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 11.49%. On average, research analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.46%.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Centerbridge Partners L.P. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,771,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,712,000 after purchasing an additional 752,239 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 22.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 338.7% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 166,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 128,387 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at about $455,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Banc of California by 63.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,249,000 after acquiring an additional 698,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.