Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) in a report issued on Friday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $18.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

BANC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James increased their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BANC opened at $16.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Banc of California has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 71.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banc of California

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Banc of California by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 32.3% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 4.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Banc of California by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. 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.