Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.95, but opened at $13.53. Banc of California shares last traded at $13.94, with a volume of 281,469 shares.

The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 1.14% and a negative net margin of 44.04%. The business had revenue of $522.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently -12.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on BANC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Monday, January 29th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, insider Robert G. Dyck sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.97, for a total transaction of $149,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,935.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311,842 shares during the period. Bayview Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $27,297,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,992 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 345.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,291,541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,330 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,853,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.