Empowered Funds LLC Increases Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 206,345 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $3,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,419,000 after acquiring an additional 80,707 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 12.6% during the third quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 65,224 shares of the bank’s stock worth $967,000 after purchasing an additional 7,308 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Banc of California by 81.4% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 51,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 22,930 shares in the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in Banc of California by 4.6% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 112,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 4,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.8% in the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 98,420 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,460,000 after buying an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BANC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.30.

Banc of California Stock Down 1.2 %

BANC stock opened at $16.04 on Tuesday. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.36 and a one year high of $16.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.76 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $431.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.46 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This trade represents a 9.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

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.