Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 65,992 Shares of California BanCorp $BCAL

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its stake in California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) by 75.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,992 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in California BanCorp were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in California BanCorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in California BanCorp by 26,512.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,121 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in California BanCorp by 508.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 545 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in California BanCorp during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

California BanCorp Stock Performance

Shares of BCAL opened at $21.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.16. California BanCorp has a 52 week low of $15.18 and a 52 week high of $22.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $683.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.92.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.04. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 26.01%.The business had revenue of $44.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.07 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that California BanCorp will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This is a boost from California BanCorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. California BanCorp’s payout ratio is 21.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $158,925.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $474,465.29. The trade was a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 8.14% 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.