Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 106,472 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.07% of Banc of California worth $1,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 5.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on BANC. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $14.15 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is currently 71.43%.

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.