Brokerages Set Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Price Target at $20.45

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.8636.

BANC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:BANC opened at $20.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.44. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $21.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.41 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 8.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 243.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,782,000 after buying an additional 2,433,394 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Banc of California by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,053,402 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,914 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth $17,400,000. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 265.8% during the second quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,184,000 after acquiring an additional 992,154 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 21.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,410,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,024,000 after purchasing an additional 957,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.