Penn Capital Management Company LLC Acquires 86,261 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC boosted its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 982,500 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,261 shares during the period. Banc of California makes up approximately 1.3% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Banc of California worth $16,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Banc of California by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 69,739 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 1.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 441,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Banc of California presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Price Performance

BANC stock opened at $16.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 0.72. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $21.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.35.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 40.68%.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.