California BanCorp (BCAL) Competitors

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) and Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in BCAL or AUB?

55.4% of California BanCorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.8% of California BanCorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, BCAL or AUB?

California BanCorp has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, BCAL or AUB?

Atlantic Union Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than California BanCorp. Atlantic Union Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than California BanCorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California BanCorp	$184.56M	2.84	$5.43M	$0.87	18.51
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$1.05B	4.64	$209.13M	$2.06	16.61

Does the media favor BCAL or AUB?

In the previous week, Atlantic Union Bankshares had 15 more articles in the media than California BanCorp. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Atlantic Union Bankshares and 3 mentions for California BanCorp. Atlantic Union Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat California BanCorp's score of 0.63 indicating that Atlantic Union Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
California BanCorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Atlantic Union Bankshares	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is BCAL or AUB more profitable?

Atlantic Union Bankshares has a net margin of 15.53% compared to California BanCorp's net margin of 13.20%. California BanCorp's return on equity of 10.97% beat Atlantic Union Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California BanCorp	13.20%	10.97%	1.40%
Atlantic Union Bankshares	15.53%	8.50%	1.06%

Do analysts prefer BCAL or AUB?

California BanCorp presently has a consensus target price of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 21.12%. Atlantic Union Bankshares has a consensus target price of $38.33, indicating a potential upside of 12.04%. Given California BanCorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe California BanCorp is more favorable than Atlantic Union Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California BanCorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats California BanCorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.