New York State Common Retirement Fund Purchases 441,814 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 1,159.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 479,912 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 441,814 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.30% of Banc of California worth $7,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Banc of California by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank's stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 4.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 5.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 123,667 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Banc of California Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of BANC traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $14.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,490,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,868,996. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.42. 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 (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's payout ratio is currently 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BANC. Stephens lowered their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.18.

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.