Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Holdings Lessened by PL Capital Advisors LLC

PL Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,449,219 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 500,000 shares during the period. Banc of California comprises approximately 13.9% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $50,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Banc of California by 9.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 69,739 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 3,611 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% in 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 lifted its stake in Banc of California by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 441,856 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Banc of California from $23.50 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Brean Capital lowered shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Banc of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.62.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:BANC opened at $18.62 on Monday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.33 and a 12-month high of $21.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -44.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $19.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.10.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $16.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -114.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,419. This trade represents a 15.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

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.