Shares of
Central Valley Community Bancorp
(
CVCY
) have gained momentum following its strong third quarter results,
which included an earnings surprise of 47.1%. This provider of
commercial banking services has recorded positive earnings
surprises in the last four quarters with an average beat of 20.0%.
Strong estimate revisions helped Central Valley Community become a
Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) on October 18. In addition, a P/B
multiple of just 0.8 makes this stock an attractive pick for value
investors.
Impressive Third Quarter Results
On October 17, Central Valley Community reported third quarter
earnings per share of 25 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus
Estimate by 47.1% and the year-ago income by 92.3%. The upsurge was
mainly driven by growth in non-interest income and lower
non-interest expenses.
The company's non-interest income surged 43.8% year over year to
$2.3 million. Moreover, non-interest expenses dipped 6.9% to $6.7
million. However, net interest income dropped 3.8% year over year
to $7.6 million. Net interest margin also contracted 45 basis
points to 4.21%. The drop was attributed to a decrease in the yield
on interest-earning assets and a decline in average loan balances.
Credit metrics continued to improve at Central Valley Community.
Nonperforming assets were $10.2 million, down 17.1% from the
year-ago quarter with net charge-offs showing a declining trend.
Net charge-offs were negative 0.07% of average loans outstanding,
compared with positive 0.37% last year.
Earnings Momentum on an Upswing
Over the past 7 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 jumped
13.4% to 76 cents per share as both estimates moved higher. This
implies a year-over-year growth of 21.4%. For 2013, the Zacks
Consensus Estimate increased 5.8% to 73 cents over the same time
frame.
Reasonable Valuation
Along with a P/B multiple of 0.8, Central Valley Community has a
forward P/E ratio as low as 11.1. (A P/E ratio under 15.0 and a P/B
ratio below 3.0 generally indicate value.) Furthermore, the
company's share price has gained nearly 61.9% year-to-date.
Headquartered in Fresno, California, Central Valley Community
Bancorp, holding company for the state chartered bank - Central
Valley Community, provides various commercial banking services. The
company was founded in 1979 and operates through 17 banking offices
in Clovis, Fresno, Kerman, Lodi, Madera, Merced, Modesto, Oakhurst,
Prather, Sacramento, Stockton, and Tracy. With a market capital of
about $81.6 million, Central Valley Community competes with Pacific
Continental Corp. (
PCBK
), among others.
Want More of Our Best Recommendations?
Zacks' Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are
about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest
hand. Then each week he hand-selects the most compelling trades and
serves them up to you in a new program called
Zacks Confidential
.
Learn More>>
CENTRAL VLY COM (CVCY): Free Stock Analysis
Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research