Ieq Capital LLC Sells 2,327 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,963 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,327 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Banc of California by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $167,000. Private Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.8% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $14.86 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.88 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.69 and a 200 day moving average of $15.40. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BANC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens decreased their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.18.

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.