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

Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.17.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BANC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000 over the last 90 days. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 668,077 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,328,000 after buying an additional 18,742 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,132 shares of the bank's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 6,826 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Banc of California by 1,159.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 479,912 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,419,000 after purchasing an additional 441,814 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Banc of California by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 24,316 shares of the bank's stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 11,500 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,112,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,674. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.65 and its 200 day moving average is $14.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.67. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 8.23%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Banc of California's payout ratio is 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.