Caxton Associates LLP Takes $476,000 Position 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 acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 33,578 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Banc of California by 1.5% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 75,563 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299 shares during the period. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 67,093 shares of the bank's stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 432,553 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $16.58. The stock had a trading volume of 325,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,352,606. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.53 and a beta of 0.71. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.59 and a 200-day moving average of $14.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Banc of California

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.