Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $24.00 to $22.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWBC opened at $19.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.84 million, a PE ratio of 29.09 and a beta of 0.92. Community West Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $15.50 and a fifty-two week 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.72.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.07). Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.14% and a net margin of 4.53%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Community West Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Community West Bancshares news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 315,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,787,071.81. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bartlein bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.75 per share, for a total transaction of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 433,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,135,175. The trade was a 0.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 2,432 shares of company stock worth $45,616 in the last quarter. 11.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $4,842,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $847,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 228.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 15,343 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 12.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Community West Bancshares by 24.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,221,000 after acquiring an additional 23,738 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

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.