Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Shares Purchased by PL Capital Advisors LLC

PL Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) by 1,837.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,242,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,817,372 shares during the period. Community West Bancshares accounts for about 1.9% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.43% of Community West Bancshares worth $159,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CWBC. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Community West Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 23,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in Community West Bancshares by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $414,000 after buying an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 5.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Community West Bancshares by 228.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 15,343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $40,008.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 315,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,787,071.81. The trade was a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Martin E. Plourd sold 7,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.26, for a total transaction of $148,918.32. Following the transaction, the president now owns 82,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,593,514.62. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,940 shares of company stock valued at $36,372 and sold 18,747 shares valued at $385,851. 11.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWBC opened at $18.77 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $355.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.62. Community West Bancshares has a 1-year low of $15.50 and a 1-year high of $24.47.

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

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on CWBC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on 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.

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.