Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Grows Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 168.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,127,558 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 708,028 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. owned 0.73% of Banc of California worth $19,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BANC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank’s stock worth $191,970,000 after purchasing an additional 438,320 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Banc of California by 10.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock worth $113,640,000 after purchasing an additional 600,791 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Banc of California by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,010,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,938,000 after purchasing an additional 181,029 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Banc of California by 243.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,430,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,782,000 after buying an additional 2,433,394 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.69.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC stock opened at $21.28 on Monday. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $13.96 and a one year high of $21.93. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.30.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 36.64%.

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.