Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $25.78 and last traded at $25.71, with a volume of 54335 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CWBC. 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 note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research cut Community West Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.17.

Community West Bancshares Trading Up 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $690.46 million, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.52.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.05. Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 20.77%.The business had revenue of $38.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.23 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Community West Bancshares will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 34.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 77,000 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 418.3% in the third 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. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 159.1% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 70,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 43,590 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Community West Bancshares by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,582,000 after acquiring an additional 38,044 shares in the last quarter. 33.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

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.