Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Short Interest Up 33.2% in July

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 786,800 shares, a growth of 33.2% from the June 30th total of 590,600 shares. Approximately 6.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 78,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.1 days.

Southern California Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of BCAL stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.30. 39,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 147,684. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.65. Southern California Bancorp has a 12-month low of $12.30 and a 12-month high of $18.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.66 million, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.83.

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29. The firm had revenue of $10.77 million during the quarter. Southern California Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 17.56%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southern California Bancorp will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern California Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAL. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in Southern California Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Southern California Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,700,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southern California Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Southern California Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $461,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southern California Bancorp

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.