Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 430,194 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,171 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Banc of California were worth $6,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 128,296 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in Banc of California by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 77,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,281,410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,270,000 after purchasing an additional 221,125 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4,319.8% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,425 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 15,076 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $14.66 on Thursday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.88 and a 52 week high of $18.08. 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 market cap of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.18 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $15.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.39.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BANC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” 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 upped their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stephens lowered 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.18.

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.