Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Position Lowered by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,513,475 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 298,051 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.44% of Banc of California worth $157,448,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BANC. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 210.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 7.7% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,804 shares of the bank’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth about $179,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new stake in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 67.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,666 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Price Performance

NYSE:BANC opened at $18.03 on Wednesday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $21.61. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.28. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BANC. Barclays increased their target price on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.86.

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.