Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC Takes Position in California BanCorp $BCAL

Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC bought a new stake in California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 170,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,551,000. California BanCorp comprises about 1.2% of Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BCAL. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in California BanCorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,142,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of California BanCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,468,000. Man Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of California BanCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,369,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of California BanCorp in the second quarter valued at $16,501,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

California BanCorp Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BCAL opened at $21.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $704.09 million, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.92. California BanCorp has a 12-month low of $15.85 and a 12-month high of $22.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.55.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced 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 business had revenue of $44.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a net margin of 26.01% and a return on equity of 10.44%. On average, research analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is a positive change from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is 21.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California BanCorp

In other news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $158,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BCAL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded California BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

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.