Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) shares hit a new 52-week high 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BANC shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James lifted 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Banc of California Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.83 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.18 and its 200 day moving average is $14.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The company 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This represents a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 7.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,618,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,597,751 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,941 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in Banc of California by 589.8% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481,692 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,207,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 93.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,476,387 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,839 shares during the period. 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.