William Blair Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,249,192 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $25,521,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.81% of Banc of California as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BANC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Banc of California by 9.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,879,000 after purchasing an additional 297,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 1.0% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on BANC. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Banc of California from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Brean Capital downgraded Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Banc of California presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.62.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In other news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,419. This represents a 15.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Banc of California Trading Down 0.1%

Banc of California stock opened at $18.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of -44.38 and a beta of 0.74. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.33 and a 52 week high of $21.93.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 7.98% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The business had revenue of $16.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $295.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Banc of California’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -114.29%.

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.