Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.3125.

BANC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.4%

BANC stock opened at $19.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California has a one year low of $13.24 and a one year high of $21.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.86.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $286.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $291.28 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 9.25%. Banc of California’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 69,739 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,879,000 after purchasing an additional 297,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 441,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 4,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.