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

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $19.92 and last traded at $19.87, with a volume of 15134 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $19.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BCAL. Wall Street Zen lowered California BanCorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 16th. DA Davidson set a $21.00 target price on shares of California BanCorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, California BanCorp currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $20.33.

California BanCorp Stock Up 3.6%

The stock has a market cap of $657.45 million, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.67.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.09. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 26.26%.The business had revenue of $45.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.02 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California BanCorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in California BanCorp by 26.5% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 54,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 11,446 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its position in California BanCorp by 38.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 29,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 8,138 shares during the period. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in California BanCorp in the third quarter worth approximately $467,000. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of California BanCorp during the 3rd quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of California BanCorp by 343.0% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 69,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 53,512 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

California BanCorp Company Profile

Southern California Bancorp operates as the holding company for Bank of Southern California, N.A. that provides various financial products to individuals, professionals, and small-to medium-sized businesses. The company offers checking, personal and business savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.