Caxton Associates LLP Invests $476,000 in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired 33,578 shares of Banc of California, Inc. valued at approximately $476,000 in the first quarter, joining other institutional investors that have significantly increased their holdings in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Banc of California shares, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods setting a target at $18.00 and maintaining an "outperform" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4%, showcasing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 33,578 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,575,301 shares of the bank's stock worth $135,874,000 after purchasing an additional 50,452 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 16.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,280,573 shares of the bank's stock worth $89,121,000 after purchasing an additional 887,497 shares in the last quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 18.7% in the first quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,771,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,712,000 after purchasing an additional 752,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,102,305.96. This represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded down $0.08 on Monday, hitting $16.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,938,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,367,457. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The firm had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 is 61.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.