Picton Mahoney Asset Management Purchases Shares of 1,962 Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,962 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 3.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 206,345 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,039,000 after acquiring an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 30.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 81,187 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 18,779 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter worth $832,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter worth $748,000. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 1.5% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 346,480 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,104,000 after acquiring an additional 5,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $14.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.41. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.88 and a 52-week 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.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 71.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BANC shares. Raymond James raised their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus 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.