Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $26.00 to $29.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.93 and traded as high as $24.71. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Community West Bancshares shares last traded at $24.40, with a volume of 170,282 shares traded.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Community West Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 411,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,267,000 after purchasing an additional 104,779 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 167,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 77,000 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Community West Bancshares by 418.3% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 63,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after buying an additional 50,889 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 192.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 55,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 36,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $758,000. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $469.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.49 and a 200 day moving average of $21.97.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.03. Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 19.45%.The company had revenue of $38.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.38 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 24.00%.

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.