Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Bought by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Banc of California by 15.6%, now owning approximately 777,114 shares valued at $11 million.
• Banc of California's shares rose by 4.7%, with a current stock price around $16.29, following a quarterly earnings report that exceeded analysts' expectations.
• The bank announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend, set for payment on October 1st, which reflects a yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 61.54%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 777,114 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 104,819 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Banc of California worth $11,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 686,067 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,990 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 1,287.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 45,281 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 132,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,041,000 after buying an additional 33,017 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 49.4% in the first quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 80,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 26,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 116,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,806,000 after buying an additional 41,217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $149,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000 over the last quarter. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $16.2930 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $14.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.26. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.12 EPS. Banc of California's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.33.

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.

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