Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Short Interest Down 8.2% in November

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,140,000 shares, a decrease of 8.2% from the October 31st total of 8,870,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,370,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Banc of California Price Performance

Banc of California stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,345,684. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.88 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens upped their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush raised their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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. Citigroup started coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at $10,077,564. The trade was a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 394.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after acquiring an additional 264,070 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $549,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 13.6% during the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,986,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,384,000 after buying an additional 238,242 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 71.4% in the second quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 107,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 44,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 461.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 651,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,599,000 after buying an additional 535,654 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.