Hodges Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,244,379 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,931 shares during the quarter. Banc of California accounts for 1.8% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.84% of Banc of California worth $20,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $17,400,000. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Banc of California by 265.8% in the second quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,365,440 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,184,000 after purchasing an additional 992,154 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Banc of California by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,410,938 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,024,000 after purchasing an additional 957,693 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 101.0% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,392,277 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,561,000 after purchasing an additional 699,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 63.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 698,426 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BANC. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.86.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE BANC opened at $20.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.98. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $11.52 and a one year high of $21.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.72.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $292.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $288.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Banc of California 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.