Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $16.95 and last traded at $16.95, with a volume of 3038369 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.36.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.30.

Banc of California Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 1.13.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This trade represents a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Banc of California by 32.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 98,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Banc of California by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 69,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Banc of California by 146.3% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.