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Is Central Valley Community Bancorp (CVCY) a Great Value Stock Right Now?

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The proven Zacks Rank system focuses on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find winning stocks. Nevertheless, we know that our readers all have their own perspectives, so we are always looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong picks.

Looking at the history of these trends, perhaps none is more beloved than value investing. This strategy simply looks to identify companies that are being undervalued by the broader market. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

Central Valley Community Bancorp is a stock many investors are watching right now. CVCY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock is trading with a P/E ratio of 9.71, which compares to its industry's average of 12.40. Over the past 52 weeks, CVCY's Forward P/E has been as high as 12.22 and as low as 9.27, with a median of 10.94.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is CVCY's P/B ratio of 1. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This company's current P/B looks solid when compared to its industry's average P/B of 1.78. Over the past year, CVCY's P/B has been as high as 1.19 and as low as 0.96, with a median of 1.05.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. Some people prefer this metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement. This means it could be a truer performance indicator. CVCY has a P/S ratio of 2.92. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.14.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that CVCY has a P/CF ratio of 7.20. This metric takes into account a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find stocks that are undervalued based on their solid cash outlook. CVCY's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 11.74. CVCY's P/CF has been as high as 10.42 and as low as 6.92, with a median of 7.75, all within the past year.

Value investors will likely look at more than just these metrics, but the above data helps show that Central Valley Community Bancorp is likely undervalued currently. And when considering the strength of its earnings outlook, CVCY sticks out at as one of the market's strongest value stocks.

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