Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $683,000 in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 44,188 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Banc of California by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 116,822 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,806,000 after acquiring an additional 41,217 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth $4,775,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Banc of California during the 4th quarter worth $178,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in Banc of California by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 65,184 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 7,512 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Banc of California by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 485,575 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,507,000 after acquiring an additional 61,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BANC stock opened at $14.61 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $13.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.09. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 0.69. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $17.09.

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.

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