Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413,624 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,570 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.26% of Banc of California worth $5,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 1,446.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,754,426 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $722,823,000 after acquiring an additional 43,730,207 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,377,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Banc of California by 2,119.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,876,914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747,262 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 701.9% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 952,674 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,728,000 after purchasing an additional 833,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 644,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Banc of California stock opened at $14.05 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.58 and a 200-day moving average of $14.77.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The company’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 61.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on BANC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total transaction of $532,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,280,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at $2,232,988.80. The trade was a 6.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock worth $1,208,000. 2.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.