Centerbridge Partners L.P. Purchases 752,239 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Centerbridge Partners L.P. increased its stake in Banc of California by 18.7%, acquiring 752,239 shares to hold a total of 4,771,784 shares, which represents 13.0% of their holdings.
• Wall Street analysts have shown confidence in Banc of California, with multiple firms raising their price targets; Wells Fargo set a new price objective of $18.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Banc of California declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 2.4%, and will be paid on October 1st to shareholders of record.

Centerbridge Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,771,784 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 752,239 shares during the quarter. Banc of California accounts for about 13.0% of Centerbridge Partners L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Centerbridge Partners L.P. owned about 3.00% of Banc of California worth $67,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 75,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,802 shares of the bank's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 0.5% during the first quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 432,553 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE BANC traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,915,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,361,068. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 0.71.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.43 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

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.