Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) Will Pay A Dividend Of $0.08

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Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) will pay a dividend of $0.08 on the 31st of August. This means the annual payment will be 2.3% of the current stock price, which is lower than the industry average.

View our latest analysis for Community West Bancshares

Community West Bancshares' Payment Expected To Have Solid Earnings Coverage

While yield is important, another factor to consider about a company's dividend is whether the current payout levels are feasible.

Community West Bancshares has established itself as a dividend paying company, given its 9-year history of distributing earnings to shareholders. While past data isn't a guarantee for the future, Community West Bancshares' latest earnings report puts its payout ratio at 24%, showing that the company can pay out its dividends comfortably.

Over the next year, EPS is forecast to fall by 3.8%. But if the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the future payout ratio could be 29%, which we would consider to be quite comfortable looking forward, with most of the company's earnings left over to grow the business in the future.

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historic-dividend

Community West Bancshares Is Still Building Its Track Record

Even though the company has been paying a consistent dividend for a while, we would like to see a few more years before we feel comfortable relying on it. The dividend has gone from an annual total of $0.08 in 2014 to the most recent total annual payment of $0.32. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 17% over that duration. We're not overly excited about the relatively short history of dividend payments, however the dividend is growing at a nice rate and we might take a closer look.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

Investors who have held shares in the company for the past few years will be happy with the dividend income they have received. Community West Bancshares has impressed us by growing EPS at 13% per year over the past five years. With a decent amount of growth and a low payout ratio, we think this bodes well for Community West Bancshares' prospects of growing its dividend payments in the future.

Community West Bancshares Looks Like A Great Dividend Stock

Overall, we like to see the dividend staying consistent, and we think Community West Bancshares might even raise payments in the future. The company is generating plenty of cash, and the earnings also quite easily cover the distributions. We should point out that the earnings are expected to fall over the next 12 months, which won't be a problem if this doesn't become a trend, but could cause some turbulence in the next year. All in all, this checks a lot of the boxes we look for when choosing an income stock.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. Just as an example, we've come across 2 warning signs for Community West Bancshares you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit concerning. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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