Hodges Capital Management Inc. Increases Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 288.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,748,004 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,298,004 shares during the period. Banc of California accounts for approximately 1.7% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $26,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in Banc of California by 238.8% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 571,063 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,669,000 after purchasing an additional 402,498 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,303,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Banc of California by 510.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 79,808 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 66,739 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Banc of California by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 628,950 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,447,000 after purchasing an additional 114,173 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,488,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 3.2 %

BANC traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $12.78. 4,918,583 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,840,976. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.83. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 1.15. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.96 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.02 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jared M. Wolff acquired 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.98 per share, with a total value of $99,677.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 268,695 shares in the company, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.31.

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.