Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,314 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BANC. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Banc of California by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $158,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at about $167,000. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Banc of California by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.18.

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Banc of California Stock Up 4.8 %

Banc of California stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.96. 3,065,535 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,844. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.18. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.41 and a 200-day moving average of $15.41.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Banc of California's payout ratio is 71.43%.

Banc of California Company 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.