Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Banc of California had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC traded down $0.36 on Thursday, reaching $20.74. The company had a trading volume of 4,974,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,313,452. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.23. 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 has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $21.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 38.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Banc of California by 243.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,433,394 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Banc of California by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,053,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,914 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Banc of California during the second quarter worth about $17,400,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 276.5% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,278,974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,167,000 after acquiring an additional 939,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at about $13,554,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Banc of California News

Here are the key news stories impacting Banc of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat consensus — Banc of California reported $0.42 EPS vs. $0.38 expected and revenue of $292.9M vs. $288.4M, showing quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year improvement. Banc of California press release
• Positive Sentiment: Strong lending and deposit trends — management highlighted ~15% annualized loan growth and 11% growth in noninterest-bearing deposits, supporting revenue expansion potential. Investing.com: loan growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market write-ups confirm the beat — Zacks and TipRanks summaries emphasize the EPS/revenue beat and improving margins/returns versus year-ago levels. Those confirmations reduce surprise risk and support the fundamentals. Zacks: Tops Q4 estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarter snapshot pieces recap the results without offering new catalysts — useful for investors needing the numbers but not driving fresh directional conviction. SFGate: Q4 snapshot
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage set expectations; the actual beat largely matched previews, so these items are background rather than drivers. Benzinga: earnings forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction was negative despite the beat — several reports note the stock declined after the release, indicating investor profit-taking or disappointment with some forward items/valuation despite the reported beat. MSN: Beats on revenue but stock drops
• Negative Sentiment: Duplicate coverage of the sell-off — broader news outlets echoed the same downward price reaction, reinforcing that sentiment-driven selling, not headline fundamentals, is the immediate price driver. Yahoo Finance: Beats but stock drops

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BANC. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.95.

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.