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

Key Points

• Banc of California has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $18.70.
• Insider Hamid Hussain recently sold 20,000 shares of the company for approximately $331,800, reducing their ownership by 23.14%.
• The bank has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, providing a 2.6% yield based on a payout ratio of 61.54%.

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $18.70.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Banc of California from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,305.96. The trade was a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 22.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Banc of California by 210.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 41.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,049 shares of the bank's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the first quarter valued at $123,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the first quarter valued at $148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE BANC opened at $15.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.82. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%.The business had revenue of $315.66 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Banc of California's payout ratio is currently 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.

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