Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) saw a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,140,000 shares, a decline 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $17.00. 1,458,590 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,345,684. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 1.13. Banc of California has a 1-year low of $11.88 and a 1-year high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,077,564. This represents a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position 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 worth $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 in the 2nd quarter valued at $549,000. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,986,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,384,000 after purchasing an additional 238,242 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 107,842 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 44,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 461.6% in 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. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BANC shares. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.30.

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.