Insider Buying: Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) CEO Acquires $22,487.85 in Stock

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) CEO James Kim purchased 1,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.65 per share, with a total value of $22,487.85. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 58,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,215,231.85. This trade represents a 1.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Community West Bancshares Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ CWBC opened at $22.84 on Friday. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $15.57 and a 52 week high of $25.72. 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 market capitalization of $437.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.31.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $38.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.38 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 623.7% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Community West Bancshares during the second quarter valued at $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 75.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 255.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 2,945.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on CWBC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 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. Zacks Research cut Community West Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.33.

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.