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

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.17.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC opened at $13.62 on Friday. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.75.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000 over the last three months. 2.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.