Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 93,454 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Banc of California, Inc. by 111.4%, owning a total of 177,344 shares valued at approximately $2.50 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their positions, with notable increases from First Trust Advisors LP and Envestnet Asset Management Inc., as institutional and hedge funds now own 86.88% of company shares.
• Banc of California recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4% set to be paid on October 1st.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 111.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,344 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 93,454 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Banc of California worth $2,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,276 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake 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 buying an additional 1,299 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 2.5% during 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 grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 0.5% during 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Banc of California Price Performance

NYSE:BANC traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $16.95. The company had a trading volume of 2,072,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,967,761. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.52 and a 52-week high of $18.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $15.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.26. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Banc of California news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the sale, the director 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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