Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Short Interest Update

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 178,200 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the December 15th total of 208,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Community West Bancshares from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWBC traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.90. 62,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $358.08 million, a P/E ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.92. Community West Bancshares has a 52-week low of $15.50 and a 52-week high of $24.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average of $19.71.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Community West Bancshares

In other Community West Bancshares news, Director Robert Bartlein bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $18.75 per share, with a total value of $37,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 433,876 shares in the company, valued at $8,135,175. This trade represents a 0.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $40,008.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 315,531 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,071.81. This trade represents a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 2,432 shares of company stock valued at $45,616. Company insiders own 11.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 228.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 15,343 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Community West Bancshares by 6.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 389,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 24,294 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Community West Bancshares by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 251,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,852,000 after buying an additional 28,695 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 11.9% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 292,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,640,000 after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC increased its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 8.7% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,868,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,993,000 after buying an additional 149,506 shares during the period. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

Community West Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for Community West Bank, N.A. that provides various financial products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and fixed rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposits; and cash management products.