Principal Financial Group Inc. Invests $810,000 in California BanCorp $BCAL

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 45,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $810,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BCAL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in California BanCorp by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in California BanCorp during the 1st quarter worth about $357,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in California BanCorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $335,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in California BanCorp by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 48,045 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 6,298 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

California BanCorp Stock Up 0.7%

California BanCorp stock opened at $21.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.06. The stock has a market cap of $685.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.93. California BanCorp has a 12-month low of $14.56 and a 12-month high of $22.00.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $44.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 26.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. California BanCorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California BanCorp

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BCAL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens raised their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

California BanCorp Company 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.