Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Holdings Boosted by EJF Capital LLC

Key Points

• EJF Capital LLC increased its stake in Banc of California, Inc. by 52.4%, now holding approximately 220,276 shares valued at about $3.13 million.
• Banc of California posted quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share, exceeding expectations of $0.28, with an annual revenue increase of 5.2% year-over-year.
• The bank also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in a 2.4% dividend yield at an annualized payout of $0.40.

EJF Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 52.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,276 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 75,726 shares during the period. Banc of California makes up about 2.0% of EJF Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. EJF Capital LLC owned 0.14% of Banc of California worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Banc of California by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 75,563 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Banc of California by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,802 shares of the bank's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Banc of California by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,370 shares of the bank's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 67,093 shares of the bank's stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,027 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE BANC traded down $0.06 on Monday, hitting $16.78. 1,915,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,361,068. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $15.29 and a 200 day moving average of $14.30. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 0.71. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report 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 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.33.

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.