Tiptree Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• Tiptree Advisors LLC increased its stake in Banc of California, Inc. by 52.7% in the first quarter, owning approximately $5.14 million worth of stock as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Millennium Management, have significantly increased their positions, with institutional ownership now at 86.88%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Banc of California, with target prices ranging from $16.00 to $19.00 following recent upgrades from multiple firms.

Tiptree Advisors LLC raised its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 52.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 362,000 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 125,000 shares during the quarter. Banc of California comprises about 4.2% of Tiptree Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Tiptree Advisors LLC owned about 0.23% of Banc of California worth $5,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,377,000 after buying an additional 3,953,380 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 2,119.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,477,000 after buying an additional 2,747,262 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 127.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,453,245 shares of the bank's stock worth $63,192,000 after buying an additional 2,495,043 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,942,131 shares of the bank's stock worth $183,649,000 after buying an additional 2,029,119 shares during the period. Finally, Centerbridge Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 18.7% in 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 period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (up from $17.00) on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 66,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $16.65. 876,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,349,548. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $15.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.36. 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 company has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67 and a beta of 0.71. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.52 and a 12-month high of $18.08.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $272.85 million for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. Analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is 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.