California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their price objective on California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of California BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at California BanCorp

In related news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of California BanCorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $158,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,465.29. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California BanCorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in California BanCorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in California BanCorp by 178.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 55,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 35,664 shares during the last quarter. Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC acquired a new position in California BanCorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,551,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in California BanCorp during the 2nd quarter worth $3,142,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in California BanCorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,468,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California BanCorp Price Performance

NASDAQ BCAL opened at $21.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.80. California BanCorp has a 1 year low of $15.85 and a 1 year high of $22.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $691.55 million, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.92.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.01% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $44.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.07 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that California BanCorp will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. California BanCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

About California BanCorp

California BanCorp (NASDAQ: BCAL) is a bank holding company for California Bank of Commerce, a full-service commercial bank focused on serving businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individuals. The bank provides relationship-based banking and financial services through its California operations.

Its products and services include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate loans, construction financing, Small Business Administration lending, business and personal deposit accounts, treasury management and cash-management services.