Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.25.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of BANC stock opened at $17.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.72 and a 200-day moving average of $15.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banc of California has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.24. The company has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.68.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.00% and a net margin of 11.49%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.46%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 22.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Banc of California by 210.8% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $148,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.