Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CWBC. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Community West Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.33.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWBC opened at $24.49 on Monday. Community West Bancshares has a 1 year low of $15.57 and a 1 year high of $25.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.23 million, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $23.49 and its 200 day 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 10.11%. The business had revenue of $38.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.38 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its position 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 valued at $9,267,000 after buying an additional 104,779 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 167,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,758,000 after buying an additional 77,000 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 418.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 63,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 50,889 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 36,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the fourth quarter valued at $758,000. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

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.