Insider Buying: Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Director Buys 1,000 Shares of Stock

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Director Robert Bartlein purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.86 per share, for a total transaction of $17,860.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 436,876 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,802,605.36. This represents a 0.23 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Robert Bartlein also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 6th, Robert Bartlein acquired 1,000 shares of Community West Bancshares stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $18.50 per share, with a total value of $18,500.00.
• On Thursday, February 20th, Robert Bartlein bought 1,000 shares of Community West Bancshares stock. The shares were bought at an average cost of $18.80 per share, for a total transaction of $18,800.00.

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of Community West Bancshares stock opened at $17.81 on Friday. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $14.52 and a 52 week high of $24.47. The company has a market capitalization of $337.43 million, a PE ratio of 34.25 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $18.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.07). Community West Bancshares had a return on equity of 7.90% and a net margin of 4.59%. As a group, analysts expect that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Community West Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Community West Bancshares’s payout ratio is 92.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Community West Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 1,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Community West Bancshares by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 48,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWBC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.