AlphaQuest LLC Reduces Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 94.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,565 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 45,822 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $42,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 1.6% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 37,460 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Banc of California by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 100,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,783 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Banc of California by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Banc of California by 1.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 131,299 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BANC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of BANC opened at $19.99 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 firm has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.90. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.52 and a 12 month high of $21.61.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The firm 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 issued a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.90%.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.