Analysts Set Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) PT at $17.33

Key Points

• Banc of California has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with four recommending a hold and eight recommending buy, alongside an average 12-month price target of $17.33.
• The bank reported earnings per share of $0.31, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $272.85 million, demonstrating a 5.2% year-over-year increase.
• Insider transactions include significant sales, with insiders offloading approximately 86,000 shares valued at over $1.2 million in recent months, indicating potential shifts in confidence among executives.

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BANC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,649.16. The trade was a 26.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the 1st quarter worth $123,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 1st quarter valued at about $148,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at about $156,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.54. The company had a trading volume of 1,913,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,420,890. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.90. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.03. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Banc of California's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.