Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC)’s share price 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 changing hands.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Community West Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CWBC. CWM LLC increased its position in Community West Bancshares by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 28,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Community West Bancshares by 75.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 623.7% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Community West Bancshares Trading Up 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $469.23 million, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $38.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.38 million. Equities research analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

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.