Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Holdings Lifted by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,384 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 143.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $121,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311,842 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 1st quarter worth about $32,618,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,260,000 after buying an additional 1,791,992 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,748,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,587,000 after buying an additional 1,298,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 42.1% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,575,930 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,180,000 after buying an additional 762,959 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Up 3.4 %

BANC opened at $14.49 on Monday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.96 and a 1-year high of $15.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $14.05 and a 200-day moving average of $13.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $492.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on BANC. Wedbush upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James upgraded Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.45.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.