Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Raised to “Outperform” at Wedbush

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wedbush from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $18.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their previous target price of $14.00. Wedbush’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.29% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BANC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James raised shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.28.

Banc of California Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $14.84 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.95 and its 200 day moving average is $13.90. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $9.96 and a 52 week high of $15.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.46 and a beta of 1.13.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.42 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Banc of California will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,077,564. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANC. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Banc of California in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the first quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.