California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) was upgraded by Raymond James Financial to a “moderate buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BCAL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of California BanCorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California BanCorp presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

California BanCorp Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ BCAL opened at $21.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $686.75 million, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.92. California BanCorp has a twelve month low of $15.85 and a twelve month high of $22.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.38.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $44.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.01% and a return on equity of 10.44%. As a group, research analysts predict that California BanCorp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $158,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,465.29. This represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 8.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On California BanCorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in California BanCorp by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 6.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $998,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in California BanCorp by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.