PL Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 7,817,372 Shares of Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC)

PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) by 1,837.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,242,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,817,372 shares during the quarter. Community West Bancshares accounts for 1.9% of PL Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned about 43.50% of Community West Bancshares worth $159,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Community West Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake 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 worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,430 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Community West Bancshares by 228.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,057 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 15,343 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Community West Bancshares in the third quarter worth about $847,000. 33.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Community West Bancshares Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ CWBC opened at $18.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.62. Community West Bancshares has a one year low of $15.50 and a one year high of $24.47. The company has a market capitalization of $355.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community West Bancshares Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CWBC shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Community West Bancshares from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Community West Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Community West Bancshares news, Director Steven D. Mcdonald sold 1,860 shares of the 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 directly owns 315,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,071.81. This represents a 0.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Martin E. Plourd sold 7,732 shares of Community West Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.26, for a total transaction of $148,918.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 82,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,514.62. The trade was a 8.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 1,940 shares of company stock worth $36,372 and sold 18,747 shares worth $385,851. 11.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Community West Bancshares Profile

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.