Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Bought by UBS Group AG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Banc of California by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 132,328 additional shares and ending with 598,427 shares valued at about $11.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted holdings, and hedge funds and institutions now own 86.88% of the bank’s stock.
• Analysts remain mostly positive: Banc of California has an average “Buy” rating, while the company also reported quarterly EPS of $0.39, slightly beating estimates, and announced a $0.12 quarterly dividend.

UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 598,427 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 132,328 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.40% of Banc of California worth $11,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Banc of California by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $191,970,000 after acquiring an additional 438,320 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at $253,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 39,408 shares of the bank's stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the bank's stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 74,744 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,441,000 after buying an additional 2,607 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 equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $21.83.

Banc of California Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:BANC opened at $18.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.74. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.24 and a 12-month high of $21.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $286.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $291.28 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.58%.Banc of California's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.64%.

Banc of California Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.

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