Hedge Funds Are Betting On Banc of California Inc (BANC)

Now, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Columbus Circle Investors, led by Principal Global Investors, initiated the biggest position in Banc of California Inc (NYSE:BANC). Columbus Circle Investors had $10 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital also made a $0.6 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors, Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle’s Springbok Capital, and Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Banc of California Inc (NYSE:BANC) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH), Teekay Offshore Partners L.P. (NYSE:TOO), Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY), and Solar Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLRC). This group of stocks’ market values are similar to BANC’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 9.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $89 million. That figure was $78 million in BANC’s case. Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Banc of California Inc (NYSE:BANC) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: None