Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $1.07 Million Investment in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 68,950 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,066,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 425,634 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 17,876 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,026 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 77,975 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 128,296 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 7,722 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a report on Monday, April 28th. Five 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.17.

Banc of California Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Banc of California stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.67. The stock had a trading volume of 1,522,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,285,123. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.88. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $18.08. 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 (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. The company 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 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other Banc of California news, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banc of California 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.