Royce & Associates LP Sells 250,515 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Royce & Associates LP lowered its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,172,603 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 250,515 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.74% of Banc of California worth $18,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BANC. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 11,276 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Banc of California by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 280,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 185.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 69,248 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 45,002 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BANC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Raymond James increased their price target on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens decreased their target price 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Up 4.0 %

Banc of California stock opened at $13.96 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92 and a beta of 1.18. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.88 and a 12-month high of $18.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.35 and its 200 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 quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.43%.

Banc of California Company 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.