Mendon Capital Advisors Corp Buys 149,491 Shares of California BanCorp $BCAL

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its position in shares of California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) by 58.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 404,369 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 149,491 shares during the period. California BanCorp accounts for about 2.1% of Mendon Capital Advisors Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp’s holdings in California BanCorp were worth $7,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in California BanCorp during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 26,512.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 508.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 12.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at California BanCorp

In related news, President Richard Hernandez sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.12, for a total value of $325,040.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 72,935 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,517.20. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 8.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BCAL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, California BanCorp has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.67.

California BanCorp Price Performance

California BanCorp stock opened at $21.02 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.97. The stock has a market cap of $676.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49 and a beta of 0.93. California BanCorp has a 12-month low of $14.56 and a 12-month high of $21.70.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 25.68%.The firm had revenue of $44.22 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is currently 21.86%.

California BanCorp Profile

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.