Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on BANC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE BANC opened at $16.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.68. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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. The business had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 11.49%. Sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,305.96. This represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California by 210.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Banc of California by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 2,367 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 1st quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 1st quarter valued at about $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.