Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BANC. Weiss Ratings lowered Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays set a $10.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Brean Capital cut shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Banc of California Price Performance

Banc of California stock opened at $18.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.67 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a one year low of $15.33 and a one year high of $21.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.98. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). The company had revenue of $16.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Banc of California news, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $192,900.30. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,346.60. This trade represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,419. The trade was a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Banc of California by 8.8% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 232,431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after acquiring an additional 18,862 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter worth $70,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 417.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 323,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,604,000 after purchasing an additional 260,741 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 14.4% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 5,078 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 2nd quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.