Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Key Points

• Banc of California reported a quarterly earnings of $0.38 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.33.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting a 2.4% dividend yield for investors.
• Several analysts have upgraded Banc of California's stock, increasing its price target to as high as $20.00.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $287.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.91 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:BANC opened at $16.85 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $16.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.91. 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 has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $18.24. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.68.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BANC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Banc of California from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total transaction of $331,800.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 210.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 3,940 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $179,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $203,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Banc of California in the second quarter worth $209,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in Banc of California by 12.4% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 24,528 shares of the bank's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.