Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.63% from its current stock price.
• Banc of California recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.28, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.2%.
• Insider trading activity showed that directors sold a total of 86,000 shares in the last 90 days, representing a total value of approximately $1.2 million.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) had its price target raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the bank's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on BANC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. 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 research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.33.

Banc of California Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of BANC traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.15. 2,112,924 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,638,437. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $14.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.36. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%. The company had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $419,649.16. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000. Insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth $1,343,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at about $467,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth about $102,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 21,276 shares of the bank's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 3,258 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Banc of California by 274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,377,000 after buying an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.