Penn Capital Management Company LLC Invests $9.33 Million in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Penn Capital Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 603,227 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $9,326,000. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned about 0.38% of Banc of California at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,913,012 shares of the bank's stock valued at $168,716,000 after acquiring an additional 644,330 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at about $470,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 160.6% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 83,890 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,303,000 after purchasing an additional 51,699 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 66.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 41,879 shares of the bank's stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 16,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 171.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 409,511 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,331,000 after buying an additional 258,618 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 2.5 %

Banc of California stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.45. 1,276,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,350,682. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97 and a beta of 0.85. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The business's revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Banc of California's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.25.

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.