Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock Bumped Up to “Hold” by Wall Street Zen

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

BANC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Brean Capital downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.38.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BANC stock traded up $0.06 on Friday, reaching $17.86. 1,539,826 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,214,104. Banc of California has a one year low of $16.12 and a one year high of $21.93. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of -52.51 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.84.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.51%. The company had revenue of $303.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.27 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -141.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jared M. Wolff acquired 5,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $99,753.66. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 333,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,062,230.08. The trade was a 1.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $192,900.30. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 45,702 shares in the company, valued at $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at about $462,252,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 118.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 224,746 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,599,000 after acquiring an additional 121,826 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 219.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,227,555 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,580,000 after acquiring an additional 842,879 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,761,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,256,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles. Through its banking subsidiary, Banc of California, N.A., it provides commercial banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals, with a focus on customers in California. The company offers business and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, and treasury management services. Its lending activities include financing for commercial real estate and businesses, along with specialized financing solutions.