Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Stock Rating Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Benchmark

Key Points

• Benchmark upgraded Community West Bancshares to “strong buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $28.17 target price.
• The stock traded up 3.7% to $26.36, near its 52-week high of $28.17. Its latest quarterly earnings of $0.45 per share beat estimates by $0.15, though revenue came in below expectations.
• Insiders and institutional investors have shown increased interest: insiders bought shares recently and own 9.03% of the company, while institutions and hedge funds own 33.80%.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Benchmark to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Community West Bancshares currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.17.

Community West Bancshares Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CWBC opened at $26.36 on Wednesday. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $19.78 and a 52 week high of $28.17. The company's 50 day moving average is $25.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $715.15 million, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.81.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $54.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.65 million. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 16.86% and a return on equity of 10.12%. Equities analysts predict that Community West Bancshares will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jagroop Gill bought 4,770 shares of Community West Bancshares stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.88 per share, for a total transaction of $118,677.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 588,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,631,106.96. This trade represents a 0.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 5,374 shares of company stock valued at $133,078. Insiders own 9.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter worth $311,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares during the second quarter worth $485,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 6.3% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 10,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,039,000. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.80% of the company's stock.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

Community West Bancshares is the bank holding company for Community West Bank, a California-based community bank headquartered in Goleta. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial services to businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individual customers.

Community West Bank offers business and personal deposit accounts, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate loans, construction financing, Small Business Administration loans and residential mortgage products.

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