Orchard Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Orchard Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 57.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 171,717 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 231,535 shares during the quarter. Banc of California accounts for approximately 2.7% of Orchard Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Orchard Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,942,131 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $183,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029,119 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,575,301 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,874,000 after buying an additional 50,452 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 16.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,280,573 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,121,000 after buying an additional 887,497 shares in the last quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 18.7% in the first quarter. Centerbridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,771,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,712,000 after buying an additional 752,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Banc of California by 127.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,453,245 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,192,000 after buying an additional 2,495,043 shares in the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, insider Hamid Hussain sold 20,000 shares of Banc of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.59, for a total transaction of $331,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 66,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,102,305.96. This trade represents a 23.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Banc of California Stock Performance

Shares of Banc of California stock opened at $18.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.75. Banc of California, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.52 and a 52 week high of $18.70.

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

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid 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 2.2%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is 38.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BANC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Citigroup upgraded Banc of California from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $18.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Banc of California has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.25.

Banc of California Company Profile

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.