Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 25,000 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,000 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.16% of Banc of California worth $3,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BANC. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Banc of California by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp purchased a new stake in Banc of California during the 2nd quarter valued at $102,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in shares of Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Banc of California in the 2nd quarter worth $166,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Stock Up 1.9 %

BANC opened at $16.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $16.21 and its 200 day moving average is $14.92. Banc of California, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $11.88 and a fifty-two week high of $18.08.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.11. Banc of California had a positive return on equity of 2.93% and a negative net margin of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $431.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $229.46 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Banc of California’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -9.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BANC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $16.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Banc of California presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.10.

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.