Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,533 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $163,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 205.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Banc of California by 71.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 3,026 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BANC. Stephens decreased 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 report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.3 %

BANC stock opened at $14.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.40.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend 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.