Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Upgraded by UBS Group to Hold Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings cut Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Brean Capital cut Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays set a $10.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banc of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC stock opened at $18.59 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.27 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.52 and its 200 day moving average is $18.99. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $15.33 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 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The business had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -114.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivia Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was 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 directly owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,346.60. The trade was a 18.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California in the second quarter worth about $462,252,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $125,070,000 after acquiring an additional 3,645,579 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 valued at $113,640,000 after acquiring an additional 600,791 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,317,363 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,702,000 after acquiring an additional 187,999 shares during the period. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,385,290 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,722,000 after acquiring an additional 140,911 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc is the holding company for Banc of California, a relationship-focused financial institution headquartered in California. The bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, individuals and families, with a focus on supporting the state’s local communities and economy.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other cash-management services.