California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $24.50

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

Several research firms have commented on BCAL. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on California BanCorp in a report on Thursday, August 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded California BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Stephens increased their price target on California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Monday, September 21st.

California BanCorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BCAL opened at $21.47 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.26. California BanCorp has a fifty-two week low of $15.85 and a fifty-two week high of $22.41. The company has a market cap of $690.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.91.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $44.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 26.01%. Sell-side analysts predict that California BanCorp will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is 26.09%.

Insider Activity at California BanCorp

In other news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $158,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,465.29. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 8.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On California BanCorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in California BanCorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,129,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of California BanCorp during the second quarter worth $16,501,000. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of California BanCorp during the second quarter valued at $8,360,000. Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California BanCorp during the second quarter valued at $3,551,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $8,331,000 after buying an additional 155,744 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

California BanCorp Company Profile

California BanCorp is a bank holding company headquartered in California and the parent company of California Bank of Commerce. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides relationship-based financial services primarily to businesses, professional practices, nonprofit organizations and individuals.

California Bank of Commerce offers commercial and business banking products, including deposit accounts, commercial real estate and business loans, lines of credit, equipment financing, treasury management and cash-management services.