Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,706 shares of the bank's stock after selling 45,639 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.10% of Banc of California worth $2,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 128,296 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 77,975 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,281,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,270,000 after purchasing an additional 221,125 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 4,319.8% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,425 shares of the bank's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 15,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.18.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $15.59. 2,990,406 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,832,503. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.88 and a 1 year high of $18.08.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. As a group, research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.