SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 37,108 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 183.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,319 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 37,108 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Banc of California were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BANC. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 205.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $13.92. 2,215,623 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,312,368. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.52 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $13.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.57.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 8.23%. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. Banc of California's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.17.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,280,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,379,976. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Andrew Barker purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000. Corporate insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

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.