Can Value Investors Choose Central Valley (CVCY) Stock Now?

Value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. After all, who wouldn’t want to find stocks that are either flying under the radar and are compelling buys, or offer up tantalizing discounts when compared to fair value?

One way to find these companies is by looking at several key metrics and financial ratios, many of which are crucial in the value stock selection process. Let’s put Central Valley Community Inc. (NASDAQ:CVCY) stock into this equation and find out if it is a good choice for value-oriented investors right now, or if investors subscribing to this methodology should look elsewhere for top picks:

PE Ratio

A key metric that value investors always look at is the Price to Earnings Ratio, or PE for short. This shows us how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings in a given stock, and is easily one of the most popular financial ratios in the world. The best use of the PE ratio is to compare the stock’s current PE ratio with: a) where this ratio has been in the past; b) how it compares to the average for the industry/sector; and c) how it compares to the market as a whole.

On this front, Central Valley Community has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 13.11, as you can see in the chart below:

This level actually compares pretty favorably with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 stands at about 17.67. If we focus on the long-term PE trend, Central Valley Community’s current PE level puts it below its midpoint of 14.42 over the past five years. Moreover, the current level stands well below the highs for the stock, suggesting that it can be a solid entry point.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks Finance sector’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 13.73. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Central Valley Community has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of just 12.85. So, it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near term.

P/CF Ratio

An often overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This ratio doesn’t take amortization and depreciation into account, so can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business. This is a preferred metric to some valuation investors because cash flows are (a) generally less prone to manipulation by the company’s management, and (b) are less affected by variation in accounting policies between different companies.

The ratio is generally applied to find out whether a company’s stock is overpriced or underpriced with reference to its cash flows generation potential compared with its competitors. However, it is not commonly used for cross-industry comparison, as the average price to cash flow ratio varies from industry to industry.

In this case, Central Valley Community ’s P/CF ratio of 9.94 is higher than the Zacks Banks-West industry average of 11.23, which indicates that the stock is somewhat undervalued in this respect.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Central Valley Community currently has a Value Score of B, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes Central Valley Community a solid choice for value investors, and some of its other key metrics make this pretty clear too.

For example, the P/CF ratio (another great indicator of value) comes in at 9.77, which is far better than the industry average of 10.18. Clearly, CVCY is a solid choice on the value front from multiple angles.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Central Valley Community might be a good choice for value investors, there are plenty of other factors to consider before investing in this name. In particular, it is worth noting that the company has a Growth Score of D and a Momentum Score of F. This gives CVCY a Zacks VGM score — or its overarching fundamental grade — of D. (You can read more about the Zacks Style Scores here >>)

Meanwhile, the company’s recent earnings estimates have been mixed at best. The current year has seen none estimates go higher in the past sixty days compared to one lower, while the next year estimate has seen one up and none down in the same time period.

This has had a dismal impact on the consensus estimate though as the current quarter consensus estimate has declined by 4.3% in the past two months, while the full year estimate has dropped by 1.8%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

Central Valley Community Bancorp Price and Consensus

Apart from this somewhat soft trend, the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) which is why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Central Valley Community is an inspired choice for value investors, as it is hard to beat its incredible lineup of statistics on this front. However, with a sluggish industry rank (among Bottom 14% of more than 250 industries) and a Zacks Rank #3, it is hard to get too excited about this company overall. In fact, over the past two years, the Zacks Computer-Mini industry has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

So, value investors might want to wait for estimates and analyst sentiment to turn around in this name first, but once that happens, this stock could be a compelling pick.

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