William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 187,999 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management increased its stake in Banc of California by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 187,999 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 2,317,363 shares valued at about $44.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several large investors such as Vanguard, Invesco, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America also boosting their positions; institutions now own 86.88% of the stock.
• Banc of California recently beat quarterly EPS estimates at $0.39 and declared a $0.12 quarterly dividend, while analysts maintain a generally Buy outlook with an average price target of $22.31.

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,317,363 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 187,999 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.53% of Banc of California worth $44,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank's stock worth $191,970,000 after acquiring an additional 438,320 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 7.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,231 shares of the bank's stock worth $96,474,000 after acquiring an additional 418,293 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 45.4% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,053,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,914 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,879,000 after acquiring an additional 297,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 243.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,782,000 after acquiring an additional 2,433,394 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.1%

BANC stock opened at $18.83 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $18.14 and a 200-day moving average of $18.81. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.24 and a fifty-two week high of $21.61.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Banc of California had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company had revenue of $286.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $291.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Banc of California's revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio is 36.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BANC. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Banc of California from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their price target on Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Banc of California from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $22.31.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.

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