Brokerages Set Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Target Price at $18.18

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.18.

A number of research firms have weighed in on BANC. Wedbush upped their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 34.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,534 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 62,014 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Banc of California by 461.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 651,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,599,000 after buying an additional 535,654 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Banc of California by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,233,452 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,169,000 after buying an additional 44,951 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,223,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 247,116 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,640,000 after acquiring an additional 63,780 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $16.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.40 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.24.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 71.43%.

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.