Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Given New $23.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays raised Banc of California’s price target to $23 from $22 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 30.5% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $22.22; JPMorgan also raised its target to $24.
• Banc of California reported a significant quarterly loss of $1.61 per share versus the $0.40 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 94% year over year to $16.41 million.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $22.00 to $23.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.50% from the company's previous close.

BANC has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Brean Capital lowered shares of Banc of California from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Banc of California from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.22.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $17.62. The company had a trading volume of 266,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,897,237. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.01 and a beta of 0.77. 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 has a twelve month low of $15.33 and a twelve month high of $21.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.01.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). The firm had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.98%. Banc of California's revenue was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 45,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $836,346.60. The trade was a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $462,252,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank's stock worth $125,070,000 after buying an additional 3,645,579 shares in the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 5.6% in the first quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,462,302 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,707,000 after acquiring an additional 77,012 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, 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.

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