Walleye Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 384,583 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $6,761,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BANC. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Banc of California from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.69.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $21.27 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a one year low of $13.96 and a one year high of $21.93. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.73.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Banc of California had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $286.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $291.28 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.64%.

About Banc of California

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.