Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 495,458 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 43.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 641,450 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 495,458 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.41% of Banc of California worth $8,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 143.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,014,810 shares of the bank’s stock worth $121,069,000 after acquiring an additional 5,311,842 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in Banc of California in the 1st quarter valued at $32,618,000. Bayview Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter valued at $27,297,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 148.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,997,802 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,260,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Banc of California by 345.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,291,541 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777,330 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Banc of California

In related news, Director Richard J. Lashley sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total value of $1,050,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 719,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,077,564. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Banc of California from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $17.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.69.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of BANC stock opened at $13.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Banc of California, Inc. has a 12-month low of $9.96 and a 12-month high of $15.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.65 and a 200-day moving average of $13.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.15 and a beta of 1.13.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $271.42 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 21.99% and a positive return on equity of 2.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -12.01%.

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.