Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Banc of California has been upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a positive shift in analyst sentiment.
• DA Davidson and Wells Fargo have increased their price targets for Banc of California, with current consensus target price set at $19.00.
• Insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California, reducing his ownership by 23.14% amid changes in institutional holdings.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.00.

Banc of California Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of BANC opened at $16.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $18.24. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $16.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.97.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter. Banc of California had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The business had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Banc of California by 127.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,453,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,043 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Banc of California by 18.6% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,942,131 shares of the bank's stock valued at $183,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029,119 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $17,400,000. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 265.8% in the 2nd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,440 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,184,000 after acquiring an additional 992,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,280,573 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,121,000 after acquiring an additional 887,497 shares during 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.

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