Short Interest in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Rises By 47.2%

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) saw a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,540,000 shares, a growth of 47.2% from the May 31st total of 10,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.1 days.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded down $0.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $12.71. The company had a trading volume of 739,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,393,004. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.77 and a beta of 1.14. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $13.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.85. Banc of California has a fifty-two week low of $9.96 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.25% and a negative net margin of 29.10%. The business had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.02 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -12.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.98 per share, with a total value of $99,677.40. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. South Dakota Investment Council boosted its position in Banc of California by 238.8% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 571,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,669,000 after purchasing an additional 402,498 shares in the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth $1,303,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Banc of California by 510.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 79,808 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 66,739 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Banc of California by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 628,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,447,000 after purchasing an additional 114,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth $1,488,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. StockNews.com raised Banc of California to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.31.

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.