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

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.10.

A number of research analysts recently commented on BANC shares. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.5 %

BANC opened at $16.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California has a one year low of $11.88 and a one year high of $18.08. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.81 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.99.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -9.37%.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Banc of California during the third quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $158,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Banc of California during the second quarter worth $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.