Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 66,183 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 55.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,329 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,183 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311,842 shares during the period. Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at $27,297,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Banc of California by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,791,992 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Banc of California by 345.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,291,541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,330 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Banc of California by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,853,903 shares of the bank’s stock worth $65,191,000 after buying an additional 1,615,478 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 13th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.81.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In other news, CEO Jared M. Wolff bought 7,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.6 %

BANC opened at $13.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.43 and a 200 day moving average of $13.79. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.96 and a fifty-two week high of $16.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.07). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.02 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -12.01%.

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.