Short Interest in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Drops By 14.5%

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) saw a large drop in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 48,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Community West Bancshares Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ CWBC traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.90. 62,805 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,773. Community West Bancshares has a 52 week low of $15.50 and a 52 week high of $24.47. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.70. The company has a market cap of $358.16 million, a PE ratio of 28.64 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Community West Bancshares

In other Community West Bancshares news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.51, for a total transaction of $40,008.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 315,531 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,071.81. This trade represents a 0.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Bartlein bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.75 per share, with a total value of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 433,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,135,175. This trade represents a 0.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 2,432 shares of company stock worth $45,616 in the last 90 days. 11.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Community West Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,770,000. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $405,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Community West Bancshares in the second quarter worth $106,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 24.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 120,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,221,000 after purchasing an additional 23,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Community West Bancshares by 284.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 641,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,864,000 after purchasing an additional 474,671 shares during the last quarter. 33.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.