EJF Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

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 boosted its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 52.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,276 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 75,726 shares during the period. Banc of California accounts for about 2.0% of EJF Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. EJF Capital LLC owned about 0.14% of Banc of California worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Banc of California by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 686,067 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 17,990 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 177,344 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,503,000 after buying an additional 93,454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 1,287.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 45,281 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Banc of California by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 132,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,041,000 after buying an additional 33,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerbridge Partners L.P. grew its holdings 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 valued at $67,712,000 after purchasing an additional 752,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,102,305.96. The trade was a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:BANC traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $16.85. 1,429,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,355,469. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $18.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $15.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price target (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.