Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Short Interest Update

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 8,230,155 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the February 26th total of 6,667,151 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,991,846 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 243.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,394 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Banc of California by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,053,402 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,914 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,400,000. North Reef Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $22,312,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 265.8% in the 2nd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,184,000 after purchasing an additional 992,154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BANC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.05.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BANC traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,439,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,884,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $21.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 0.73.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.The company had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.68%.

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.