Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Short Interest Update

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during 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 daily volume of 48,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 9,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $196,924.05. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 317,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,827,080.41. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bartlein purchased 2,000 shares of Community West Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.75 per share, with a total value of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 433,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,135,175. This trade represents a 0.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 2,432 shares of company stock worth $45,616. Insiders own 11.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 284.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 641,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,864,000 after buying an additional 474,671 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Community West Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,842,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Community West Bancshares by 198.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 365,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,770,000 after purchasing an additional 243,165 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in Community West Bancshares by 8.7% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,868,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,993,000 after purchasing an additional 149,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,770,000. 33.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

CWBC traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.90. 62,805 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 40,637. The company has a market cap of $358.08 million, a P/E ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.71. Community West Bancshares has a 12-month low of $15.50 and a 12-month high of $24.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.73%.

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.