Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) shares passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.97 and traded as high as $18.33. Banc of California shares last traded at $17.9850, with a volume of 1,427,686 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Brean Capital lowered Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.50.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -52.90 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $303.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.27 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.51%. Banc of California’s revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.70 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently -141.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banc of California news, CEO Jared Wolff acquired 5,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.18 per share, for a total transaction of $99,753.66. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 333,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,062,230.08. This trade represents a 1.67% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $192,900.30. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,346.60. This trade represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter worth $462,252,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 147.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645,579 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 10.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,640,000 after purchasing an additional 600,791 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 29.7% in the first quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,500,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,370,000 after purchasing an additional 343,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,521,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, Banc of California, N.A., provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individuals. The bank operates as a full-service commercial bank, offering deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, home lending, treasury management, cash-management services and online and mobile banking.

The company primarily serves customers throughout California, with operations and relationships extending into select western markets.