Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $3.26 Million Stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,000 shares of the bank's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.14% of Banc of California worth $3,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 1,446.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,754,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $722,823,000 after purchasing an additional 43,730,207 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Banc of California by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,913,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $168,716,000 after buying an additional 644,330 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,377,000 after buying an additional 3,953,380 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 2,119.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,747,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,556,614 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,525,000 after acquiring an additional 62,269 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.17.

Banc of California Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Banc of California stock traded up $0.32 on Wednesday, reaching $13.66. 1,305,668 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,293,203. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $18.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.65 and a 200 day moving average of $14.68.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Banc of California news, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,343 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.03, for a total transaction of $523,922.29. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,317,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,518,453.40. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.