Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Purchases 104,819 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

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 holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 777,114 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 104,819 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Banc of California worth $11,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Banc of California by 274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953,380 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 2,119.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747,262 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 127.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,453,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,495,043 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Banc of California by 18.6% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,942,131 shares of the bank's stock worth $183,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 701.9% in the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 952,674 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,728,000 after purchasing an additional 833,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Banc of California Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE BANC traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $17.06. 735,511 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,369,101. The business's 50-day moving average is $14.94 and its 200-day moving average is $14.28. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25 and a beta of 0.69.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 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 analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.12 earnings per share. The business'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 year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at $32,379,976. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total value of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

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.