Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC Takes $3.55 Million Position in California BanCorp $BCAL

Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC bought a new stake in California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 170,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,551,000. California BanCorp makes up approximately 1.2% of Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Maloon Powers Pitre Higgins & Dennehy LLC owned 0.53% of California BanCorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in California BanCorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,129,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of California BanCorp by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,079,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385,202 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in California BanCorp in the second quarter valued at about $16,501,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in California BanCorp in the second quarter worth about $8,360,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in California BanCorp by 77.1% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 363,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 158,270 shares in the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BCAL. Zacks Research downgraded California BanCorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. DA Davidson raised their target price on California BanCorp from $23.50 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on California BanCorp from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens upped their price target on California BanCorp from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of California BanCorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at California BanCorp

In other news, Director Lester Machado sold 7,500 shares of California BanCorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total value of $158,925.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,391 shares in the company, valued at $474,465.29. This trade represents a 25.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 8.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

California BanCorp Stock Up 1.1%

California BanCorp stock opened at $21.90 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.55. The stock has a market cap of $704.09 million, a price-to-earnings 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.

California BanCorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.04. California BanCorp had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 26.01%.The firm had revenue of $44.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.07 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that California BanCorp will post 1.75 EPS for the current year.

California BanCorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio is 21.74%.

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.