Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Short Interest Down 17.0% in April

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 116,400 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 31st total of 140,200 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 51,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Bartlein purchased 2,001 shares of Community West Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.19 per share, for a total transaction of $34,397.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 440,877 shares in the company, valued at $7,578,675.63. This trade represents a 0.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James J. Kim acquired 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.36 per share, for a total transaction of $27,776.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 60,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,044,690.08. This trade represents a 2.73 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 8,806 shares of company stock valued at $156,205. 10.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWBC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Community West Bancshares by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 56,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Community West Bancshares by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CWBC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Community West Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Community West Bancshares from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $22.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CWBC stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.99. The company had a trading volume of 60,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,865. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $15.57 and a 52 week high of $22.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $342.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.98.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.02). Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 4.59%. The company had revenue of $34.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.05 million. As a group, analysts predict that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Community West Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.85%.

About Community West Bancshares

Community West Bancshares operates as the bank holding company for Community West Bank, N.A. that provides various financial products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and fixed rate and fixed maturity certificates of deposits; and cash management products.