Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Hits New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $15.69 and last traded at $15.47, with a volume of 310183 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.42.

The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. The company had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $229.46 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.30 EPS.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush raised Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 143.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,069,000 after buying an additional 5,311,842 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,618,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 288.4% during the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,748,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,298,004 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 42.1% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,575,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,180,000 after acquiring an additional 762,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 25.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,182,000 after buying an additional 663,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.61 and a beta of 1.14.

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.