Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Community West Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Community West Bancshares from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 623.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Community West Bancshares by 75.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 255.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 65.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Community West Bancshares Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of CWBC opened at $22.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.92. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $15.57 and a 52 week high of $24.36. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.27.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.49%.The firm had revenue of $37.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.75 million. On average, analysts predict that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Community West Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

Community West Bancshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Community West Bank, headquartered in Goleta, California. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, the company offers a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services. Community West Bancshares focuses on providing personalized financial solutions to small and mid-sized businesses, professional practices, and individual customers in its service area.

The company’s product portfolio includes a variety of deposit accounts—such as business checking, savings and money market accounts—along with online and mobile banking capabilities.