Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Holdings Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,463 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,276 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Banc of California worth $1,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 71.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 3,026 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Trading Down 1.2 %

Banc of California stock opened at $14.55 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.88 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98 and a beta of 1.18.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 71.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on BANC. Barclays reduced their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.18.

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.