Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $21.73 and traded as high as $25.72. Community West Bancshares shares last traded at $25.41, with a volume of 232,580 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Community West Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Community West Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.33.

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.31 and its 200-day moving average is $21.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $486.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $38.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.38 million. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 19.45% and a return on equity of 10.11%. Analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th will be issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.00%.

Institutional Trading of Community West Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 623.7% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Community West Bancshares during the second quarter worth $46,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Community West Bancshares by 255.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 2,945.9% during the 4th 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.

About Community West Bancshares

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.