Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.18.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Banc of California by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $14.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.43. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Equities analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 71.43%.

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.