FJ Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 373,286 Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC invested $5.30 million in Banc of California, purchasing 373,286 shares during the first quarter, which represents 0.24% of the bank's stock.
• Banc of California's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.31, exceeding expectations, while the bank's shares have a target price range from $16.00 to $19.00 based on various analysts’ forecasts.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.4%, to be paid on October 1st.

FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 373,286 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $5,297,000. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Banc of California at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Banc of California by 18.6% during the 1st 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. grew its stake in Banc of California by 0.5% during the 1st 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 grew its stake in Banc of California by 16.5% during the 1st 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. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Banc of California by 127.4% during the 1st 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. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 2,119.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747,262 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. The trade was a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,843 shares of company stock valued at $1,388,222 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE BANC traded down $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $16.85. 2,177,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,808,789. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.32.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. 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 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.33.

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.