Corporate insiders tend to have the most up-to-date information on their companies’ operations. If these individuals are buying company stock, it’s often worth taking a closer look.

In this report, we are going to highlight some interesting insider buying at Banc of California Inc (BANC:US). Banc of California Inc is the holding company of Banc of California – a full-service business bank that offers commercial and business banking and personal banking services in a number of cities across California. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and currently has a market capitalization of $1.0 billion.

Insider Buying at Banc of California

Our data shows that between January 24 and January 25, board member James Barker purchased 48,435 BANC shares at an average price of $16.53 per share. This trading activity cost the insider just over $800,000 and increased his holding to 124,680 shares.

Financial Experience

Mr. Barker has considerable experience in the financial world.

Since 1998, he has served as Co-President and 25% owner of Velocity Vehicle Group, a privately owned group that serves the truck, bus, and capital equipment finance markets in the US, Mexico, and Australia.

He is also a board member and 50% owner of Velocity SBA, one of 14 non-bank small business lending companies in the US licensed to originate loans under the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program.

Earlier in his career, he worked for private equity firm HAL Investments Inc.

Given his background, he is likely to have a good understanding of Banc of California’s prospects.

The fact that he has invested $800,000 in the company (and increased the size of his holding by over 60%) suggests that he is very confident the stock is set to move higher.

Benefiting From Higher Rates

Banc of California’s recent Q4 results showed that the company is benefiting from higher interest rates at the moment.

For the quarter, net income was $21.5 million, up more than 400% on the prior-year period. And net interest margin was 3.69%, an increase of 11 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2022.

For the full year 2022, the group reported a record net income of $115.8 million, or $1.89 per diluted common share.

Looking ahead, management believes that the group is well-placed for further success.

“With the strong deposit base we have built, conservatively underwritten loan portfolio, and high capital ratios, we are well positioned to continue generating strong financial results for our shareholders and effectively managing through the economic uncertainty,” said President and CEO Jared Wolff in the Q4 results.

In light of the company’s recent performance, and the fact that the stock is quite cheap right now, we see the insider buying here as a bullish signal.

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