Piper Sandler Cuts Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Price Target to $22.00

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) had its price target reduced by Piper Sandler from $25.00 to $22.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

BANC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $25.00 to $20.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.45.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE BANC opened at $17.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.38. Banc of California has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $21.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.41 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

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