Community West Bancshares to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.12 (NASDAQ:CWBC)

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th.

Community West Bancshares has increased its dividend by an average of 31.2% per year over the last three years. Community West Bancshares has a dividend payout ratio of 22.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Community West Bancshares to earn $2.16 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.2%.

Community West Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWBC traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $18.57. 23,748 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 49,204. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.58. The company has a market capitalization of $350.42 million, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.86. Community West Bancshares has a 52-week low of $15.22 and a 52-week high of $24.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.42. Community West Bancshares had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The firm had revenue of $30.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.14 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Community West Bancshares will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Community West Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Community West Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.33.

Insider Activity at Community West Bancshares

In other Community West Bancshares news, EVP Patrick A. Luis sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $31,960.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,340.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.