Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. sold 78,340 shares of Banc of California, reducing its stake by 19.2%, leaving it with 329,553 shares valued at approximately $4.68 million.
• Banc of California announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a yield of 2.4%, payable on October 1st to stockholders of record.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Banc of California, with an average target price of $17.33, reflecting optimism about the company's performance.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 19.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 329,553 shares of the bank's stock after selling 78,340 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Banc of California worth $4,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,771,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $67,712,000 after acquiring an additional 752,239 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 111.4% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 177,344 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 93,454 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 1,287.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 45,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 132,004 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,041,000 after acquiring an additional 33,017 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Banc of California news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total transaction of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,331,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,319. The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.52 and a 200-day moving average of $14.37.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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