Sheets Smith Wealth Management Makes New Investment in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 33,336 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BANC. Centerbridge Partners L.P. grew its stake in Banc of California by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,771,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,712,000 after acquiring an additional 752,239 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 22.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $455,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Banc of California by 63.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,797,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,249,000 after purchasing an additional 698,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EJF Capital LLC increased its holdings in Banc of California by 52.4% during the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 220,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,126,000 after purchasing an additional 75,726 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Banc of California Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:BANC opened at $19.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.52 and a fifty-two week high of $20.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.72.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 13th. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter. Banc of California had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 8.00%. The company had revenue of $315.66 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. Raymond James Financial upgraded Banc of California from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.95.

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.