Orchard Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 147,413 Banc of California, Inc. $BANC

Orchard Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 147,413 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,012,000. Banc of California accounts for 2.9% of Orchard Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Banc of California in the 2nd quarter valued at $462,252,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,951,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,970,000 after acquiring an additional 438,320 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Banc of California by 10.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,464,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,640,000 after acquiring an additional 600,791 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,010,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,938,000 after acquiring an additional 181,029 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 8.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,796,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,879,000 after acquiring an additional 297,680 shares during the period. 86.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Banc of California

In related news, insider Olivia I. Lindsay sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.50, for a total value of $117,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,842 shares in the company, valued at $640,419. The trade was a 15.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Banc of California from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Brean Capital lowered Banc of California from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their target price on Banc of California from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Banc of California from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Banc of California currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.62.

Banc of California Stock Performance

BANC opened at $18.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.17. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.33 and a 1-year high of $21.93.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported ($1.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($2.01). The firm had revenue of $16.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $295.32 million. Banc of California had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 7.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 94.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Banc of California’s payout ratio is -114.29%.

About Banc of California

Banc of California, N.A. is a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Santa Ana, California, offering a broad spectrum of banking products and services to corporate and individual customers. The bank focuses on serving middle-market businesses, professional service firms, real estate investors and developers, and entrepreneurs throughout California. Its core offerings include deposit accounts, treasury management services, commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, lines of credit and Small Business Administration lending, complemented by cash management and online banking solutions.

Operating a network of branches and lending offices concentrated in both Southern and Northern California, Banc of California seeks to support local businesses and communities with personalized service and regional expertise.