PL Capital Advisors LLC Has $722.82 Million Holdings in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) by 1,446.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,754,426 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,730,207 shares during the period. Banc of California accounts for 8.5% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 29.44% of Banc of California worth $722,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Banc of California by 71.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,286 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 3,026 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Banc of California during the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Banc of California in the 3rd quarter worth $167,000. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Banc of California in the 4th quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake 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 valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company’s stock.

Banc of California Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BANC opened at $14.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 1.14. 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 $15.72 and a 200 day moving average of $15.40.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Banc of California’s payout ratio is 71.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BANC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Banc of California from $17.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Banc of California from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Banc of California from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Banc of California from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $18.18.

Banc of California Company 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.