Banc of California’s (BANC) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Stephens

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

BANC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.25.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC opened at $13.49 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.62 and a 200-day moving average of $15.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 169,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 425,634 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after buying an additional 17,876 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $167,000. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,323,000. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.