Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 362,300 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the December 31st total of 340,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Southern California Bancorp from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern California Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Southern California Bancorp by 177.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 36,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 23,499 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 66,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 32,848 shares in the last quarter. Petiole USA ltd grew its holdings in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 130.1% in the 3rd quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 195,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,893,000 after acquiring an additional 110,604 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Southern California Bancorp during the third quarter worth $801,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 417.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 26,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 21,384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Southern California Bancorp Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ:BCAL traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.12. The stock had a trading volume of 26,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 67,409. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $518.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.74 and a beta of 1.11. Southern California Bancorp has a 52 week low of $12.30 and a 52 week high of $18.49.

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.08. Southern California Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 2.94%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southern California Bancorp will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Southern 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.