Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 15,822 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Peregrine Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 430,526 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 15,822 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Banc of California worth $6,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BANC. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 99,084 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Banc of California by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,052 shares of the bank’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Banc of California by 4.5% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,082 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Banc of California by 5.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,659 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Banc of California by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 123,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stephens cut their price target on Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Banc of California in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Banc of California from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $18.18.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.9 %

Banc of California stock opened at $15.91 on Wednesday. Banc of California, Inc. has a twelve month low of $11.88 and a twelve month high of $18.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.88 and a 200-day moving average of $15.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 1.14.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.05. Banc of California had a return on equity of 6.20% and a net margin of 7.06%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 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.