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

Shares of California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

BCAL has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson dropped their price target on California BanCorp from $22.50 to $21.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded California BanCorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in California BanCorp by 199.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,079,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385,202 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of California BanCorp by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,041,000 after buying an additional 213,711 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after acquiring an additional 158,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 218,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,648,000 after acquiring an additional 67,238 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of California BanCorp by 86.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 111,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,867,000 after acquiring an additional 51,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

California BanCorp Stock Performance

Shares of BCAL stock opened at $18.77 on Wednesday. California BanCorp has a 52 week low of $11.87 and a 52 week high of $20.47. The company has a market capitalization of $606.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.71.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $45.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.03 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 24th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is currently 20.73%.

About California BanCorp

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) is a bank holding company headquartered in California. Founded to address the diverse financial needs of businesses and individuals across the state, the company focuses on community-oriented banking solutions and operates under a locally based decision-making model.

Through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, California BanCorp offers a suite of deposit products including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts. Its lending portfolio encompasses commercial and industrial loans, real estate and construction financing, as well as consumer lending products such as personal loans and home equity lines of credit.

In addition to core deposit and lending services, the company provides treasury and cash management services, online and mobile banking platforms, and merchant payment solutions designed to streamline operations for small to mid-sized enterprises.