PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW – Get Rating) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $3.00 to $8.00. 17,017,726 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 19,221,045 shares.The stock last traded at $7.94 and had previously closed at $6.85.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of PacWest Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on PacWest Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on PacWest Bancorp from $29.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on PacWest Bancorp from $30.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $32.00 price objective on shares of PacWest Bancorp in a research note on Monday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mark Yung bought 3,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.25 per share, with a total value of $48,007.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,118 shares in the company, valued at $184,799.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other PacWest Bancorp news, EVP William J. Black acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.57 per share, with a total value of $267,410.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $267,410. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Mark Yung acquired 3,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.25 per share, for a total transaction of $48,007.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 12,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,799.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 51,833 shares of company stock valued at $1,089,746 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PacWest Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PACW. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in PacWest Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its position in PacWest Bancorp by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 1,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC purchased a new position in PacWest Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in PacWest Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in PacWest Bancorp by 4,619.3% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 4,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 4,065 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.97% of the company’s stock.

PacWest Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.61. The stock has a market cap of $871.14 million, a PE ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.77 and a 200 day moving average of $19.33.

PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.01. PacWest Bancorp had a positive return on equity of 14.46% and a negative net margin of 48.43%. The company had revenue of $315.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that PacWest Bancorp will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PacWest Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. PacWest Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently -0.51%.

About PacWest Bancorp

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PacWest Bancorp is a bank holding company, which specializes in financial and banking solutions. It offers commercial banking services including real estate, construction, commercial loans, comprehensive deposit, and treasury management services to small and middle-market businesses through the Pacific Western Bank.