Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Short Interest Update

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

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CWBC traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.48. 13,350 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,295. The stock has a market capitalization of $369.13 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43 and a beta of 0.92. Community West Bancshares has a 12-month low of $15.50 and a 12-month high of $24.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $20.03 and a 200-day moving average of $19.75.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.07). Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 4.59%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total value of $40,008.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 315,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,787,071.81. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 432 shares of company stock valued at $8,116 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Barclays PLC boosted 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 6.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 389,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,499,000 after purchasing an additional 24,294 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Community West Bancshares from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

About Community West Bancshares

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.