Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL) Short Interest Update

Southern California Bancorp (NASDAQ:BCAL - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 407,700 shares, a drop of 7.3% from the October 15th total of 439,600 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 71,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Southern California Bancorp from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lester Machado sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.37, for a total value of $143,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $221,829.69. This trade represents a 39.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southern California Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCAL. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 8.8% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 124,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Southern California Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $461,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in Southern California Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $166,000. ELCO Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 26,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 5,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern California Bancorp by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,131,513 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,241,000 after buying an additional 8,521 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Southern California Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of BCAL stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $17.28. 14,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 63,669. Southern California Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $18.00. The company has a market capitalization of $320.54 million, a P/E ratio of -215.75 and a beta of 0.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $14.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.38.

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.