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

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.6667.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BCAL shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on California BanCorp from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research raised California BanCorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th.

California BanCorp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of California BanCorp stock opened at $19.77 on Tuesday. California BanCorp has a 12-month low of $14.07 and a 12-month high of $20.47. The stock has a market cap of $636.00 million, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $18.80 and its 200-day moving average is $18.70.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $44.22 million for the quarter. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 25.68%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. California BanCorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.86%.

Insider Transactions at California BanCorp

In other California BanCorp news, President Richard Hernandez sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.12, for a total transaction of $325,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 72,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,394,517.20. This trade represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 8.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California BanCorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in California BanCorp by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 795,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 34,945 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in California BanCorp by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,331,000 after purchasing an additional 155,744 shares during the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its holdings in California BanCorp by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 404,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,165,000 after purchasing an additional 149,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in California BanCorp by 77.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 158,270 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.