Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives $19.95 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.95.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BANC shares. Citigroup upgraded Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial raised Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of BANC stock opened at $19.46 on Wednesday. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $20.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.38 and its 200-day moving average is $16.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter. Banc of California had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The firm had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 38.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 45.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,137 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 517,523 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,054,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 982,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,294,000 after acquiring an additional 86,261 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.