Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 8.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,528,286 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 413,076 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $57,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,222,376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,182,000 after buying an additional 663,061 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 341,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,364,000 after buying an additional 22,950 shares in the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 53,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 13,725 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,565,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,986,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,384,000 after buying an additional 238,242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BANC opened at $14.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.99 and a 200 day moving average of $13.91. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.96 and a 52 week high of $15.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.44 and a beta of 1.13.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.09). Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. The firm had revenue of $492.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $271.42 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BANC. Raymond James upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.