SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 17,995 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

SG Americas Securities LLC lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 47.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,211 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,995 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 77,384 shares of the bank’s stock worth $989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 2.4 %

BANC opened at $16.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.88 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on BANC. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.20.

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.