The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires New Holdings in Community West Bancshares $CWBC

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 338,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 43,590 shares in the last quarter. NWM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Community West Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $730,000. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its holdings in 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 4.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,582,000 after purchasing an additional 38,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in Community West Bancshares in the first quarter worth approximately $578,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CWBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jagroop Gill bought 4,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.88 per share, for a total transaction of $118,677.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 588,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,631,106.96. The trade was a 0.82% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 5,339 shares of company stock valued at $132,169. Insiders own 9.03% of the company’s stock.

Community West Bancshares Stock Down 0.7%

CWBC stock opened at $25.82 on Friday. Community West Bancshares has a 12 month low of $19.78 and a 12 month high of $28.17. The firm has a market cap of $700.50 million, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $54.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.65 million. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 16.86% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Equities research analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.95%.

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.