Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Price Target to $22.00

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BANC. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Brean Capital lowered shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.78.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE BANC opened at $17.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.72 and a 200-day moving average of $19.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.29 and a beta of 0.77. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $15.33 and a 52 week high of $21.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $16.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -114.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $192,900.30. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 45,702 shares in the company, valued at $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 0.5% during the first quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 102,275 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,810,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 22.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,576 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 199.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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 and individuals. The bank serves customers primarily through branches and digital banking channels in California and selected markets.

Its products and services include commercial and consumer lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage lending, deposit accounts, treasury management, cash management and online banking.