Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 227,226 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Verition Fund Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 732,650 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 227,226 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC owned 0.48% of Banc of California worth $14,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BANC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 9.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 74,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 209.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 103,044 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 69,739 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 82,689 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 3,611 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 297,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,263 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Down 2.3%

BANC stock opened at $19.71 on Tuesday. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.24 and a fifty-two week high of $21.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $18.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.04. 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 company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 0.75.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Banc of California had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company had revenue of $286.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $291.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Banc of California’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BANC shares. Piper Sandler upped 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, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Banc of California from $20.50 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.31.

Banc of California Company 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.