KG&L Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 20,500 Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• KG&L Capital Management LLC has acquired 20,500 shares of Banc of California, valued at approximately $288,000, as part of its new position in the bank.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in Banc of California, with notable increases from Hsbc Holdings PLC (111.4%) and GAMMA Investing LLC (1,287.1%) during the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Banc of California, with the consensus target now at $17.45 and a "Moderate Buy" rating from multiple research firms.

KG&L Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,500 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Banc of California by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 686,067 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,990 shares during the last quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 752,239 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 93,454 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Banc of California by 1,287.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 45,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Banc of California by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 132,004 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,041,000 after buying an additional 33,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total value of $331,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. The trade was a 23.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and set a $18.00 price target (up previously from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.45.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC opened at $16.67 on Monday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.56.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $272.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.54%.

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.

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