California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Raised to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Key Points

• California BanCorp's rating was upgraded from "equal weight" to "overweight" by Stephens, with a target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.14% from its current price.
• The company's board authorized a stock repurchase program allowing it to buy back 1,600,000 shares, indicating confidence that the stock is undervalued.
• Significant institutional investment activity occurred, with firms like Tower Research Capital LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC sharply increasing their stakes in the company.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Stephens from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Monday, August 4th, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $19.00 target price on the stock. Stephens' target price suggests a potential upside of 24.84% from the company's previous close.

California BanCorp Trading Up 0.3%

California BanCorp stock opened at $15.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $493.33 million, a PE ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $15.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.01. California BanCorp has a 52 week low of $11.87 and a 52 week high of $18.49.

California BanCorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase 1,600,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of California BanCorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAL. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 3,010,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,788,000 after purchasing an additional 313,612 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,288,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,308,000 after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 300.6% in the 1st quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,057,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,160,000 after purchasing an additional 793,828 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp lifted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 443,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,339,000 after purchasing an additional 28,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of California BanCorp by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 409,629 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,775,000 after purchasing an additional 16,173 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.