Zacks Research Downgrades Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) to Hold

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

CWBC opened at $24.49 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $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. The firm has a market cap of $469.23 million, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.93. Community West Bancshares has a 1-year low of $15.57 and a 1-year high of $25.72.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $38.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.38 million. Equities analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWBC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Community West Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Community West Bancshares by 75.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 255.4% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 2,945.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the period. 33.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.