American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 809,831 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 67.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,001,716 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 809,831 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.35% of Banc of California worth $33,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter worth $912,000. ARGA Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Banc of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,730,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 338.7% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 166,298 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 128,387 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Banc of California by 308.4% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 70,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 53,506 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 63.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 698,426 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Price Performance

Banc of California stock opened at $17.09 on Friday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $21.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.41 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 8.66%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.68%.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.