Royce & Associates LP Decreases Stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,172,603 shares of the bank's stock after selling 250,515 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.74% of Banc of California worth $18,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Banc of California by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Banc of California by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BANC. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Stephens dropped 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. 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 stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.18.

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Banc of California Stock Down 0.2 %

BANC traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,231,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,329. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.40.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share 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, research 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.