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

Key Points

• Banc of California has a consensus analyst rating of "Buy", with 7 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, and 1 hold among nine covering brokerages.
• Several analysts recently raised price targets, and the average 1-year target is about $22.69, above the stock’s recent price of $21.23.
• The bank reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.39 topping estimates and revenue up 7.9% year over year, while also paying a 2.3% dividend yield.

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.6875.

A number of equities analysts have commented on BANC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Banc of California from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank's stock valued at $191,970,000 after buying an additional 438,320 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 915,325 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,657,000 after acquiring an additional 96,372 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Banc of California by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 598,427 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,544,000 after acquiring an additional 132,328 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,317,363 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,702,000 after acquiring an additional 187,999 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,740,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Price Performance

NYSE:BANC opened at $21.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $19.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $13.96 and a 52 week high of $21.61.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $286.95 million for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.64%.

About Banc of California

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.