Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 49.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,411 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 325,284 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.21% of Banc of California worth $5,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 98,420 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,460,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 5.8% in 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 lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 2.6% in 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 period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of BANC stock opened at $16.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $16.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.96.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -9.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on BANC shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.10.

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.