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

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,230,000 shares, a decline of 7.1% from the July 15th total of 13,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.5 %

BANC opened at $13.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California has a 12 month low of $9.96 and a 12 month high of $15.54.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Banc of California will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Banc of California from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of 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. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,069,000 after purchasing an additional 5,311,842 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Banc of California during the first quarter valued at about $32,618,000. Bayview Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth about $27,297,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 345.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,291,541 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.