Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Takes $2.05 Million Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 124,136 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned about 0.08% of Banc of California at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Banc of California by 9.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 69,739 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Banc of California by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 3,611 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised 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 assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:BANC opened at $16.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $21.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.33.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 12.59%.The firm had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $288.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. 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 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 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.