South Dakota Investment Council Increases Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 238.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 571,063 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 402,498 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council owned approximately 0.99% of Banc of California worth $7,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 2,466.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,899 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 872.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 6,087 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, insider Robert G. Dyck sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.97, for a total value of $149,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $373,935.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE:BANC traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.01. 2,749,035 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,462,702. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $14.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $9.72 and a one year high of $16.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.34 and a beta of 1.15.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $522.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $296.02 million. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 1.14% and a negative net margin of 44.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Banc of California from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Monday, January 29th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price target on Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.79.

Banc of California Company 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.