Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 93.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,476,387 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,194,839 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $36,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,597,751 shares of the bank’s stock worth $161,192,000 after buying an additional 1,582,941 shares during the last quarter. American International Group Inc. boosted its position in Banc of California by 3.7% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 74,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in Banc of California by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 117,025 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 9,312 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Banc of California by 394.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 331,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,037,000 after purchasing an additional 264,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the 2nd quarter worth $132,000. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BANC has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on Banc of California from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.30.

Banc of California Price Performance

NYSE:BANC opened at $17.30 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $15.41 and its 200 day moving average is $14.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52-week low of $11.36 and a 52-week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $229.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 719,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,077,564. This trade represents a 9.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.