Banc of California, Inc. $BANC Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 198.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,625 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 28,358 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 71,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 90.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,409 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Banc of California by 14.2% in the third quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,442 shares of the bank’s stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new stake in Banc of California in the third quarter worth $241,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Banc of California

In related news, General Counsel Ido Dotan sold 10,541 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.30, for a total value of $192,900.30. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 45,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,346.60. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jared Wolff purchased 5,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.18 per share, with a total value of $99,753.66. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 333,456 shares in the company, valued at $6,062,230.08. The trade was a 1.67% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on BANC. Brean Capital lowered shares of Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, September 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.38.

Banc of California Trading Up 0.3%

BANC stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.86. 1,539,826 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,214,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.87. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $16.12 and a one year high of $21.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of -52.51 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.84.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $303.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.27 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 0.58% and a positive return on equity of 8.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.70 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently -141.18%.

Banc of California Profile

Banc of California, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Los Angeles. Through its banking subsidiary, Banc of California, N.A., it provides commercial banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals, with a focus on customers in California. The company offers business and consumer deposit accounts, commercial and real estate lending, and treasury management services. Its lending activities include financing for commercial real estate and businesses, along with specialized financing solutions.