Royce & Associates LP Lowers Stake in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 95.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,431 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,165,337 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BANC. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Banc of California by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,410,938 shares of the bank’s stock worth $76,024,000 after purchasing an additional 957,693 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 67.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,001,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,128,000 after buying an additional 809,831 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Banc of California by 63.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,249,000 after acquiring an additional 698,426 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Banc of California by 45.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,652,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,343,000 after acquiring an additional 517,523 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $17.09 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $21.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.72.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The business had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.86.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.