Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $17.50 to $20.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target points to a potential upside of 17.79% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on BANC. Barclays raised Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.60.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC stock remained flat at $16.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 78,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,333,009. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.00 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 0.89. Banc of California has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.57 and its 200-day moving average is $14.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.46 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Banc of California will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BANC. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Banc of California by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter worth about $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 32.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 2nd quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.