California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Director Lester Machado Sells 7,500 Shares

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $158,925.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474,465.29. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

California BanCorp Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BCAL opened at $21.57 on Wednesday. California BanCorp has a twelve month low of $14.76 and a twelve month high of $22.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $20.38 and its 200-day moving average is $19.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $693.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.92.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $44.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.01% and a return on equity of 10.51%. Equities research analysts anticipate that California BanCorp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of California BanCorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in California BanCorp during the first quarter worth about $997,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in California BanCorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 795,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,093,000 after buying an additional 34,945 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its stake in California BanCorp by 58.7% in the 1st quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 404,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after buying an additional 149,491 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $569,000. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,663,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BCAL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the company 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 report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California BanCorp currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.33.

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.