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Should Value Investors Pick Capitala Finance (CPTA) Stock Now?

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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 Capitala Finance Corp. 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, Capitala Finance has a trailing twelve months PE ratio of 7.59, as you can see in the chart below:

This level is significantly favorable with the market at large, as the PE for the S&P 500 compares in at about 20.36. If we focus on the stock’s long-term PE trend, the current level puts Capitala Finance’s current PE ratio slightly below its midpoint (which is 8.02) over the past three years.

Further, the stock’s PE also compares favorably with the Zacks classified Financial – SBIC & Commercial Industry industry’s trailing twelve months PE ratio, which stands at 11.46. At the very least, this indicates that the stock is relatively undervalued right now, compared to its peers.

We should also point out that Capitala Finance has a forward PE ratio (price relative to this year’s earnings) of 8.81, so it is fair to expect an increase in the company’s share price in the near future.

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, Capitala Finance’s P/CF ratio of 8.48 is substantially lower than the Zacks classified Financial – SBIC & Commercial Industry average of 13.06, which indicates that the stock is somewhat undervalued in this respect.

Broad Value Outlook

In aggregate, Capitala Finance currently has a Zacks Value Style Score of ‘B’, putting it into the top 40% of all stocks we cover from this look. This makes CPTA a solid choice for value investors.

What About the Stock Overall?

Though Capitala Finance 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 grade of ‘D’ and a Momentum score of ‘F’. This gives CPTA 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 disappointing. The current quarter has seen one estimate go lower in the past sixty days, compared to none higher, while the full year estimate has seen one upward and two downward revisions in the same time period.

This has had a noticeable impact on the consensus estimate, as though the current quarter consensus estimate did not witness any earnings momentum in the past two months, the full year estimate fell about 2.6%. You can see the consensus estimate trend and recent price action for the stock in the chart below:

This somewhat bearish trend is why the stock has just a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and why we are looking for in-line performance from the company in the near term.

Bottom Line

Capitala Finance 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 (bottom 19% out 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 one year, the Zacks Financial – SBIC & Commercial Industry sector has clearly underperformed the broader market, as you can see below:

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

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