Salzhauer Michael Grows Stock Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Salzhauer Michael lifted its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 377,576 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 62,037 shares during the period. Banc of California comprises about 2.1% of Salzhauer Michael's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Salzhauer Michael owned 0.24% of Banc of California worth $5,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BANC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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 objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.73.

Banc of California Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE BANC traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $13.29. 518,030 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,351,289. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.65 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.22. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.