Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 18,000 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 74.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,316 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 668,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,742 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Banc of California by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 6,826 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Banc of California by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Banc of California by 1,159.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 479,912 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,419,000 after buying an additional 441,814 shares during the period. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Banc of California by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 53,575 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 2,491 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Banc of California news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 37,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.20, for a total value of $532,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,280,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,379,976. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.16 per share, with a total value of $131,600.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 86,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,208,000 over the last quarter. 2.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Stock Down 3.1%

NYSE BANC opened at $13.62 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.62 and a 200-day moving average of $14.71. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.19 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 61.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.17.

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.