Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Short Interest Up 6.7% in September

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,740,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the August 31st total of 11,940,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days.

Insider Activity

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 23,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in Banc of California by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 69,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Banc of California by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 77,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays raised 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 research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.61.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $14.06 on Wednesday. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $9.96 and a fifty-two week high of $15.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of -4.22 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.42 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 21.99%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banc of California will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.01%.

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.