Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 5,198,229 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 118% from the previous session’s volume of 2,383,190 shares.The stock last traded at $19.7650 and had previously closed at $20.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup raised Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.86.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.The business had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is an increase from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 1.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 100,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,804 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.