Hodges Capital Management Inc. Purchases 221,125 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,281,410 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 221,125 shares during the period. Banc of California comprises approximately 2.1% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $35,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Banc of California by 589.8% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 1,732,894 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481,692 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California during the third quarter worth approximately $21,207,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 93.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 2,476,387 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194,839 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,494,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Banc of California by 461.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 651,695 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,599,000 after buying an additional 535,654 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on BANC. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.20.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE BANC opened at $16.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57 and a beta of 1.14. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.88 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. Sell-side analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.43%.

Banc of California 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.