Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.03, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 8.30%. Banc of California's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.12 earnings per share.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $15.10. 3,854,376 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,443. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.38.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. Insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Banc of California by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 3,611 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 86,010 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 19,821 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 209.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 69,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 441,856 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 target price (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Banc of California presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.17.

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.