Wall Street Zen Upgrades Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) to Hold

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $21.50 in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.95.

Banc of California Price Performance

Banc of California stock opened at $20.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $18.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.91. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $20.68.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. Banc of California had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 8.00%. On average, research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 338.7% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 166,298 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 128,387 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 63.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 698,426 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $454,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.