Brokerages Set Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) PT at $18.18

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.18.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BANC shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,233,452 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,169,000 after purchasing an additional 44,951 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 5.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,534 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,573,000 after buying an additional 62,014 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 589.8% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Banc of California stock opened at $12.32 on Monday. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.43%.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.