California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Director Lester Machado Sells 7,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 California BanCorp shares at an average price of $21.19, generating $158,925 and reducing his ownership by 25.09% to 22,391 shares.
• California BanCorp reported quarterly EPS of $0.44, beating estimates of $0.40, while revenue reached $44.91 million. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.10 to $0.12 per share, producing a 2.2% annualized yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Buy” rating and a $24.33 price target. BCAL recently traded near $21.57, close to its 52-week high of $22.00.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL - Get Free Report) Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 22,391 shares in the company, valued at $474,465.29. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

California BanCorp Trading Up 0.6%

BCAL traded up $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.57. 172,542 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,688. The stock has a market cap of $693.91 million, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $20.38 and a 200 day moving average of $19.11. California BanCorp has a 52 week low of $14.76 and a 52 week high of $22.00.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 $44.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $45.07 million. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 26.01%. As a group, analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. 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. California BanCorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BCAL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens raised their price target on California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of California BanCorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.33.

Institutional Trading of California BanCorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BCAL. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in California BanCorp by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,942 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,154 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of California BanCorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 69,655 shares of the company's stock worth $998,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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