Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.71 and last traded at $18.6950, with a volume of 77109 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup raised Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $21.50 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial raised Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.70.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 11.49%.The firm had revenue of $315.66 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,102,305.96. This represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 1.6% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 100,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 9.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Banc of California by 22.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.