Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

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

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on 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, Citigroup upgraded Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.95.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of BANC opened at $20.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.69. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $20.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.88.

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

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 338.7% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 166,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 128,387 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 63.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 698,426 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Banc of California in the second quarter worth approximately $454,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.