California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $20.96 and last traded at $20.7120, with a volume of 296 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BCAL has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of California BanCorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.67.

California BanCorp Trading Up 0.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $671.55 million, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.21 and a 200-day moving average of $18.74.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $44.22 million for the quarter. California BanCorp had a net margin of 25.68% and a return on equity of 10.59%. On average, analysts anticipate that California BanCorp will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California BanCorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Richard Hernandez sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.12, for a total value of $325,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 72,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,394,517.20. This represents a 18.90% decrease in their position. 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 Trading of California BanCorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,882,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,822,000 after buying an additional 802,947 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position 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 worth $14,093,000 after acquiring an additional 34,945 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 49.5% in the first 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 raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 58.7% in 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 lifted its position in shares of California BanCorp by 77.1% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 158,270 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.