495,324 Shares in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Purchased by Rhino Investment Partners Inc

Key Points

• Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired 495,324 shares of Banc of California, valued at approximately $7,029,000, making it the company's 20th largest position.
• Other institutional investors like T. Rowe Price and Invesco Ltd. have significantly increased their stakes in Banc of California, collectively owning nearly 87% of the company's stock.
• Banc of California recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, indicating a yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 61.54%.

Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 495,324 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,029,000. Banc of California makes up about 1.7% of Rhino Investment Partners Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Rhino Investment Partners Inc owned about 0.31% of Banc of California as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 17,990 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 1,287.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 45,281 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 33,017 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 49.4% in the first quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 80,021 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 26,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Banc of California by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 116,822 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 41,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $149,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $419,649.16. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on BANC shares. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $15.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays increased 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 note on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.66. 468,387 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,373,126. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $14.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.62 and a beta of 0.69. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $272.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $278.43 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 7.37%. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 currently 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.