Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 34,728 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 29.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 152,591 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,728 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $2,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Banc of California by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 69,739 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,879,000 after buying an additional 297,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Banc of California by 1.0% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 441,856 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after buying an additional 4,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of BANC opened at $18.03 on Wednesday. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.52 and a 1 year high of $21.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.72.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $292.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $288.41 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from Banc of California’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is presently 33.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BANC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Banc of California from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.86.

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.