Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,510,000 shares, an increase of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 9,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on BANC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.64.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.6 %

Banc of California stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $13.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,075,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,481,258. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.20 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $9.72 and a 1 year high of $16.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.37.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $522.57 million during 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently -12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares in the company, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares in the company, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.40 per share, for a total transaction of $214,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $214,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 27,130 shares of company stock valued at $445,277. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 2,466.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,899 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lee Financial Co purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

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.