Salzhauer Michael Has $5.84 Million Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Salzhauer Michael grew its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 19.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 377,576 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 62,037 shares during the period. Banc of California comprises about 2.1% of Salzhauer Michael's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Salzhauer Michael owned 0.24% of Banc of California worth $5,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Banc of California by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.73.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $13.19. The company had a trading volume of 2,775,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,358,855. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.55 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $13.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.21. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 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, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is 71.43%.

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.