PL Capital Advisors LLC Sells 200,000 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

PL Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,201,719 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the period. Banc of California accounts for 14.9% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Banc of California worth $42,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew 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 purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of BANC opened at $14.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $14.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.35. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.72 and a 12 month high of $16.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 29.10% and a positive return on equity of 2.25%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jared M. Wolff acquired 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jared M. Wolff acquired 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.98 per share, for a total transaction of $99,677.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 268,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,756,356.10. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Andrew Barker acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 159,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,101,388.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 27,130 shares of company stock worth $445,277. Company insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banc of California from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Banc of California to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.64.

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.