Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Banc of California from “hold” to “sell,” despite the broader analyst consensus remaining “Buy” with a $22.62 price target.
• The bank reported a significant quarterly loss of $1.61 per share, missing the $0.40 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 94% year over year to $16.41 million.
• BANC shares opened at $19.68, below the $22.62 consensus target; an insider also sold 6,000 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 86.88% of the stock.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on BANC. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Brean Capital cut shares of Banc of California from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.62.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $19.68 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.93. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.85 and a beta of 0.74.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $295.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banc of California news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Banc of California by 209.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 69,739 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Banc of California by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 3,611 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Banc of California by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 1.0% in the first 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 buying an additional 4,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source