StockNews.com Upgrades Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) to Sell

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BANC. Barclays decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.64.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.6 %

Banc of California stock opened at $14.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.34. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of -4.30 and a beta of 1.15. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $9.72 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.02 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 159,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,388.80. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $13.98 per share, with a total value of $99,677.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 159,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,101,388.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 27,130 shares of company stock valued at $445,277 over the last quarter. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banc of California

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,311,842 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,853,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $65,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615,478 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,992 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 345.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,291,541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.