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

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,510,000 shares, a growth of 14.0% from the March 31st total of 9,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,540,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares in the company, valued at $3,756,356.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 159,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,388.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 27,130 shares of company stock valued at $445,277 in the last 90 days. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 5.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 719,383 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,942,000 after buying an additional 37,589 shares during the period. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth $60,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Banc of California by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 68,600 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Banc of California by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 49,943 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Banc of California by 4.9% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 84,432 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,969 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BANC shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.64.

Banc of California Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE BANC traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.08. 2,245,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,474,730. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $14.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.36. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $9.72 and a 1 year high of $16.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $296.02 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Banc of California will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.