GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 45,281 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 1,287.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,799 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 45,281 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Banc of California were worth $692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,377,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953,380 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Tiptree Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,664,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $455,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,066,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.1%

BANC traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $13.80. 5,208,719 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,312,756. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. 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 $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 0.67.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 8.23%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. This represents a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of Banc of California 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BANC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.17.

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.