Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases Shares of 74,463 Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 74,463 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% in 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 raised its holdings in Banc of California by 5.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its stake in Banc of California by 1.7% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.91. 1,347,409 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,886,023. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.44. 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 has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81 and a beta of 1.14.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. Analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.