California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $21.50 and last traded at $21.0850, with a volume of 177394 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

California BanCorp Stock Down 1.5%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.77. The company has a market cap of $671.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.93.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The business 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%. Research analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

California BanCorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is currently 21.86%.

Insider Activity at California BanCorp

In other news, President Richard Hernandez sold 17,000 shares of the 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 sale, the president owned 72,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,517.20. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 8.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAL. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in California BanCorp by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,822,000 after acquiring an additional 802,947 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of California BanCorp by 4.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 795,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 34,945 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of California BanCorp by 49.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,331,000 after purchasing an additional 155,744 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp grew its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 58.7% during the first 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 grew 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 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.