Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 178,200 shares, a drop of 14.5% from the December 15th total of 208,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 48,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Bartlein acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.75 per share, for a total transaction of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 433,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,135,175. The trade was a 0.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $40,008.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 315,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,071.81. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 2,432 shares of company stock worth $45,616. 11.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CWBC. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 76,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,473,000 after buying an additional 3,886 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $106,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Community West Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth $132,000. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Community West Bancshares during the second quarter valued at about $268,000. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWBC opened at $18.90 on Friday. Community West Bancshares has a one year low of $15.50 and a one year high of $24.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $358.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.71.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Community West Bancshares from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Community West Bancshares Company Profile

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.