Centerbridge Partners L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Centerbridge Partners L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,019,545 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,078,015 shares during the quarter. Banc of California makes up approximately 13.3% of Centerbridge Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Centerbridge Partners L.P. owned 2.53% of Banc of California worth $62,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Banc of California by 35.1% during 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing 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 fourth quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,232,988.80. This represents a 6.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.2 %

BANC opened at $13.77 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.25.

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.

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