Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 7.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 678,395 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 46,510 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $11,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Banc of California

Here are the key news stories impacting Banc of California this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted 9% annualized average loan growth and 12% annualized deposit growth. Deposits increased by $799 million, or 2.9%, during the quarter, while average loans rose by $556.1 million, or 2.3%, indicating continued underlying franchise expansion. Banc of California Second-Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: The company repositioned $2.3 billion of securities, initiated sales of approximately $827 million in loans and retired $385 million of subordinated debt. Banc of California said the moves should enhance its long-term earnings profile and reduce balance-sheet inefficiencies. Banc of California Q2 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the reported loss, estimated Tier 1 and CET1 capital ratios were 11.67% and 9.25%, respectively. Book value per share was $18.38 and tangible book value per share was $16.44 at June 30, providing context for the bank’s capital position after the restructuring.
• Negative Sentiment: Banc of California reported a net loss available to common stockholders of $251.3 million, or $1.61 per diluted share, compared with a consensus estimate of $0.40 EPS and year-ago earnings of $0.31 per share. Banc of California Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell sharply to $16.4 million from $286.9 million in the first quarter and was down 94% year over year. The securities repositioning generated a $256.7 million pretax loss, making the quarter’s results substantially weaker than expected and weighing on investor sentiment.

Banc of California Trading Down 12.2%

NYSE:BANC opened at $18.59 on Thursday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.96 and a 12-month high of $21.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.30.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). The company had revenue of $164.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.58%.Banc of California’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 36.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banc of California presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.69.

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.