First Dallas Securities Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,975 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.'s holdings in Banc of California were worth $1,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,573,000 after purchasing an additional 62,014 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 461.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 651,695 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,599,000 after purchasing an additional 535,654 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Banc of California by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,233,452 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,169,000 after purchasing an additional 44,951 shares during the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,223,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Banc of California by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 247,116 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,640,000 after purchasing an additional 63,780 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BANC shares. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:BANC traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,699,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,879,779. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.05 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.03 and a 200-day moving average of $15.18. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.46%. Banc of California's payout ratio is 71.43%.

Banc of California Profile

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.