EMC Capital Management Increases Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 4,319.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,425 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 15,076 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,476,387 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,839 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,060,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,348,000 after buying an additional 74,039 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its stake in Banc of California by 589.8% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481,692 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter worth $21,207,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Banc of California by 3.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,233,452 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,169,000 after acquiring an additional 44,951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $16.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -3.80 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 52 week low of $11.88 and a 52 week high of $18.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.11.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 20.75% and a positive return on equity of 2.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.20.

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.