Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CWBC. TheStreet downgraded Community West Bancshares from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Community West Bancshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Community West Bancshares from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $20.33.

Community West Bancshares Stock Performance

CWBC traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $17.40. 23,087 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 51,248. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.52 and a 200-day moving average of $15.40. Community West Bancshares has a 12-month low of $12.59 and a 12-month high of $24.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.03 million, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Community West Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a $0.12 dividend. This is a boost from Community West Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. Community West Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Community West Bancshares stock. Black Maple Capital Management LP raised its stake in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,417 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.20% of Community West Bancshares worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.