Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.8636.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BANC. Barclays increased their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 2,025 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 101,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,973,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 14,652 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $20.00 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.72. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $21.61.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.41 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.90%.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.