Mendon Capital Advisors Corp Makes New $102,000 Investment in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 7,953 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $102,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 447.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 151,750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,052,000 after buying an additional 124,034 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 355.9% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 443,559 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,957,000 after acquiring an additional 346,260 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion purchased a new stake in Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth $2,152,000. Banc Funds Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 1,048,229 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,078,000 after purchasing an additional 370,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter valued at about $557,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BANC opened at $14.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.96 and a 12 month high of $15.54. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.22 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.99 and its 200 day moving average is $13.90.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.09). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.12% and a negative net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $492.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $271.42 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on BANC. Raymond James upgraded Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.61.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $1,050,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,564. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

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.