Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wells Fargo & Company

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.98% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on BANC. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Brean Capital downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Barclays set a $10.00 price objective on Banc of California in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.89.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.33. 136,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,897,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -41.25 and a beta of 0.73. Banc of California has a 1 year low of $15.33 and a 1 year high of $21.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.00.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). The firm had revenue of $16.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.Banc of California’s revenue was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total transaction of $192,900.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Olivia Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total transaction of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at $640,419. This trade represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Banc of California

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BANC. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $462,252,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 147.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,121,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $125,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,645,579 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter worth approximately $25,521,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter worth $22,404,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter worth $22,019,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc is the holding company for Banc of California, a relationship-focused financial institution headquartered in California. The bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals, individuals and families, with a focus on supporting the state’s local communities and economy.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage lending, consumer loans, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other cash-management services.