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

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,540,000 shares, an increase of 47.2% from the May 31st total of 10,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.31.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC traded down $0.03 on Monday, reaching $12.75. 111,302 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,387,493. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $9.96 and a twelve month high of $16.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.85.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $522.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -12.01%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, CEO Jared M. Wolff purchased 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Banc of California by 2,466.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,899 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 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.