Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Stock Has Average Target Price of $28.83 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Community West Bancshares, with three buy ratings, one strong-buy rating and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $28.83, above the reported share price of $25.79.
• Community West Bancshares exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.66 in EPS versus the $0.57 consensus and revenue of $57.69 million. The stock has a market capitalization of approximately $699.7 million and a P/E ratio of 16.32.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12, equivalent to an annualized $0.48 payout and a 1.9% yield. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the stock, while insiders own 9.03%.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.83.

A number of brokerages have commented on CWBC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Benchmark raised shares of Community West Bancshares to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday.

Community West Bancshares Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CWBC opened at $25.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.89. The stock has a market cap of $699.68 million, a P/E ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 0.82. Community West Bancshares has a 52-week low of $20.70 and a 52-week high of $28.17.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $57.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.79 million. Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 14.05%. On average, research analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Community West Bancshares's payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at Community West Bancshares

In other Community West Bancshares news, Director Jagroop Gill purchased 4,770 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was acquired 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 $14,631,106.96. This trade represents a 0.82% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 5,374 shares of company stock valued at $133,078. Corporate insiders own 9.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Community West Bancshares during the second quarter worth about $64,110,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 275.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,136,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,516,000 after acquiring an additional 833,312 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 840,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,582,000 after acquiring an additional 38,044 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,091,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,039,000. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

Community West Bancshares is a bank holding company headquartered in Goleta, California. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Community West Bank, the company provides banking and financial services primarily to businesses, professionals, nonprofit organizations and individuals.

Community West Bank offers commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate loans, construction financing, Small Business Administration lending and residential mortgage products. Its deposit and business banking services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, online banking, cash management and other treasury management solutions.

The company serves customers through offices and banking operations focused on California's Central Coast, including the Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo areas.

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