22,679 Shares in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) Purchased by Oxford Asset Management LLP

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,679 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,574 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Banc of California by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BANC. StockNews.com raised Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Banc of California in a report on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.67.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE BANC opened at $13.20 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.57 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.19.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. The firm had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.36 million. Equities analysts predict that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.54%.

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.