Zacks Research Upgrades California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) to Hold

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

BCAL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on California BanCorp from $22.50 to $21.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $20.50.

California BanCorp Trading Up 1.4%

BCAL stock opened at $17.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $572.89 million, a PE ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 1.17. California BanCorp has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $20.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.27.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $46.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.03 million. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.60% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Sell-side analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at California BanCorp

In other news, CFO Jean Carandang sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.90, for a total transaction of $143,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 37,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $665,414.60. This trade represents a 17.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David J. Volk sold 2,346,104 shares of California BanCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.95, for a total transaction of $44,458,670.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,664.55. This represents a 99.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 14.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in California BanCorp by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,822,000 after purchasing an additional 802,947 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of California BanCorp by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,271,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,041,000 after buying an additional 213,711 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 77.1% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,066,000 after buying an additional 158,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,871,000 after buying an additional 95,771 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 219,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,092,000 after acquiring an additional 116,109 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.