Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Receives “Equal Weight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their equal weight rating on shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $15.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BANC. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.25.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of BANC opened at $13.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.19. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38 and a beta of 0.85.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 earnings per share. Banc of California’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 1,446.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,754,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $722,823,000 after buying an additional 43,730,207 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,377,000 after buying an additional 3,953,380 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2,119.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,477,000 after buying an additional 2,747,262 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 701.9% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 952,674 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,728,000 after buying an additional 833,874 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,913,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,716,000 after acquiring an additional 644,330 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Banc of California

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.