Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Downgraded to Neutral Rating by Brean Capital

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Brean Capital from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

BANC has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.69.

Banc of California Trading Down 12.2%

Shares of BANC stock opened at $18.59 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a 12-month low of $13.96 and a 12-month high of $21.93.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm had revenue of $164.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BANC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Banc of California by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,970,000 after purchasing an additional 438,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Banc of California by 10.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,640,000 after buying an additional 600,791 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Banc of California by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,010,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,938,000 after buying an additional 181,029 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Banc of California by 243.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,782,000 after buying an additional 2,433,394 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Banc of California News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management expects the repositioning to improve future earnings, targeting a 3.30%-3.40% net interest margin and $125 million-$130 million in fourth-quarter pretax, pre-provision income. Banc of California targets fourth-quarter net interest margin and pretax income
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the restructuring, average loans increased $556.1 million, or 2.3%, deposits rose $799 million, or 2.9%, and the company reported 9% annualized loan growth and 12% annualized deposit growth. Book value was $18.38 per share, while estimated Tier 1 and CET1 capital ratios were 11.67% and 9.25%, respectively. Banc of California second-quarter results and strategic repositioning
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank is repositioning its balance sheet through a $2.3 billion securities transaction, a planned sale of $827 million in loans and the retirement of $385 million of subordinated debt. Management views the moves as a way to enhance long-term earnings, but investors must weigh the near-term costs and execution risk. Banc of California stock falls after balance-sheet changes
• Negative Sentiment: Banc of California reported a $251.3 million net loss available to common shareholders, or a loss of $1.61 per diluted share, versus analysts’ expected profit of approximately $0.40 per share. Revenue was $164.05 million, well below the $295.32 million consensus estimate and sharply lower year over year. Banc of California shares gap down on disappointing earnings
• Negative Sentiment: The securities repositioning generated a $256.7 million pretax loss, making the quarter’s results look particularly weak and raising concerns about near-term profitability. The earnings miss prompted the stock to gap lower as investors focused on the magnitude of the loss rather than the bank’s growth metrics. Banc of California takes a large second-quarter loss due to restructuring

About Banc of California

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.