Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Community West Bancshares $CWBC

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 33,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $781,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Community West Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWBC. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Community West Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 623.7% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 2,945.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 3,270 shares during the last quarter. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:CWBC opened at $25.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Community West Bancshares has a 12 month low of $18.50 and a 12 month high of $28.17. The company has a market cap of $679.16 million, a PE ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.37.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $48.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.65 million. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 16.86% and a return on equity of 11.35%. Research analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Community West Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 25.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CWBC. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Community West Bancshares from $30.00 to $30.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on shares of Community West Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.17.

Community West Bancshares Profile

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.