Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Short Interest Update

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,230,155 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the February 26th total of 6,667,151 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,991,846 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,054,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at about $912,000. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Banc of California during the third quarter worth $1,730,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in Banc of California by 308.4% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 70,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 53,506 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 128,387 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,439,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,884,917. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $21.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company 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 company posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 40.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BANC. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.05.

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.