Short Interest in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Decreases By 11.9%

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 129,900 shares, a decline of 11.9% from the January 31st total of 147,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 50,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CWBC stock opened at $18.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $349.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $18.93 and its 200 day moving average is $19.60. Community West Bancshares has a twelve month low of $14.52 and a twelve month high of $24.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 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%. Research analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Community West Bancshares from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at Community West Bancshares

In other news, CEO James J. Kim acquired 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $27,776.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 60,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,044,690.08. The trade was a 2.73 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Martin E. Plourd sold 7,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.26, for a total value of $148,918.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 82,737 shares in the company, valued at $1,593,514.62. This represents a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 4,748 shares of company stock worth $85,887 and have sold 18,747 shares worth $385,851. 11.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 1,837.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,242,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $159,665,000 after acquiring an additional 7,817,372 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 8.7% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,868,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,993,000 after acquiring an additional 149,506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 689,624 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,358,000 after acquiring an additional 35,509 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 24,294 shares during the period. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 300,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,812,000 after acquiring an additional 7,225 shares during the period. 33.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.