Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Sold by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. significantly reduced its position in Banc of California by 44.3% during the first quarter, now owning about 1.8% of the bank's stock, which is its 8th largest position.
• Banc of California recently announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.4%, to be paid on October 1st, indicating a payout ratio of 61.54%.
• Equities analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Banc of California, with eight analysts giving a Buy rating and an average price target of $17.33 for the stock.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 44.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,271,800 shares of the bank's stock after selling 1,009,610 shares during the quarter. Banc of California makes up about 1.8% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.86% of Banc of California worth $18,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Banc of California by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 75,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,802 shares of the bank's stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,370 shares of the bank's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 67,093 shares of the bank's stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 432,553 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE BANC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.58. The company had a trading volume of 695,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,355,220. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm's 50 day moving average is $15.59 and its 200 day moving average is $14.40.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Banc of California had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 8.30%.The firm had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BANC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total transaction of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.