Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.1667.

CWBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $30.00 to $30.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th.

Community West Bancshares Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Community West Bancshares stock opened at $26.97 on Friday. Community West Bancshares has a 1 year low of $18.50 and a 1 year high of $27.73. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.84. The company has a market cap of $731.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.05. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 20.77% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $38.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.23 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Community West Bancshares by 623.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter worth about $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 75.5% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 2,945.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

About Community West Bancshares

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.