Hollencrest Capital Management Sells 17,514 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hollencrest Capital Management lowered its stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,266 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 17,514 shares during the quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management’s holdings in Banc of California were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Banc of California by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Banc of California by 205.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 2,926 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Banc of California by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 3,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Banc of California in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of BANC opened at $13.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81 and a beta of 1.18. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.88 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. On average, research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.43%.

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.