Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Average Rating 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.18.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of BANC stock opened at $14.16 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $11.88 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.28 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.44.

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

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 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.