California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCAL shares. Wall Street Zen cut California BanCorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $22.50 to $21.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

California BanCorp Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:BCAL opened at $18.10 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.15. The company has a market cap of $584.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.17. California BanCorp has a 12 month low of $11.87 and a 12 month high of $20.47.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $45.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.03 million. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 26.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David J. Volk acquired 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.64 per share, with a total value of $503,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,195 shares in the company, valued at $525,554.80. The trade was a 2,259.41% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 14.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in California BanCorp by 199.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,079,886 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385,202 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of California BanCorp by 20.2% in 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 during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after acquiring an additional 158,270 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 277.7% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 205,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 151,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in California BanCorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,663,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.