Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) from a strong sell rating to a sell rating in a report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on BANC. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays set a $10.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Brean Capital downgraded Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC opened at $17.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of -41.23 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $21.93.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). The firm had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -114.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $192,900.30. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at $462,252,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 147.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $125,070,000 after buying an additional 3,645,579 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,521,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,404,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $22,019,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc is the holding company for Banc of California, a relationship-focused financial institution headquartered in California. The bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, individuals and families, with a focus on supporting the state’s local communities and economy.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other cash-management services.