William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,556,614 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,269 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.61% of Banc of California worth $39,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on BANC. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.18.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.8 %

BANC opened at $14.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38 and a beta of 1.18. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.88 and a 52 week high of $18.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

About Banc of California

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.