Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 23,314 Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Banc of California by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 242,534 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,573,000 after buying an additional 62,014 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Banc of California by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,252,528 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,364,000 after buying an additional 19,076 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Banc of California by 34.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 247,116 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,640,000 after buying an additional 63,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $748,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of BANC traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,424,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,210,040. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $15.09 and its 200-day moving average is $15.42. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week high of $18.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26 and a beta of 1.18.

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Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's payout ratio is 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Banc of California from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered 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. Raymond James raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.18.

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.