How Does Community West Bancshares's (NASDAQ:CWBC) P/E Compare To Its Industry, After Its Big Share Price Gain?

It's great to see Community West Bancshares (NASDAQ:CWBC) shareholders have their patience rewarded with a 31% share price pop in the last month. But shareholders may not all be feeling jubilant, since the share price is still down 15% in the last year.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less attractive to potential buyers. While the market sentiment towards a stock is very changeable, in the long run, the share price will tend to move in the same direction as earnings per share. So some would prefer to hold off buying when there is a lot of optimism towards a stock. Perhaps the simplest way to get a read on investors' expectations of a business is to look at its Price to Earnings Ratio (PE Ratio). Investors have optimistic expectations of companies with higher P/E ratios, compared to companies with lower P/E ratios.

View our latest analysis for Community West Bancshares

Does Community West Bancshares Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

Community West Bancshares's P/E of 8.66 indicates relatively low sentiment towards the stock. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (9.8) for companies in the banks industry is higher than Community West Bancshares's P/E.

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Community West Bancshares shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Probably the most important factor in determining what P/E a company trades on is the earnings growth. When earnings grow, the 'E' increases, over time. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others -- and that may attract buyers.

Most would be impressed by Community West Bancshares earnings growth of 12% in the last year. And its annual EPS growth rate over 5 years is 2.9%. With that performance, you might expect an above average P/E ratio.

Remember: P/E Ratios Don't Consider The Balance Sheet

Don't forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. Thus, the metric does not reflect cash or debt held by the company. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

Community West Bancshares's Balance Sheet

Net debt is 36% of Community West Bancshares's market cap. You'd want to be aware of this fact, but it doesn't bother us.

The Bottom Line On Community West Bancshares's P/E Ratio

Community West Bancshares's P/E is 8.7 which is below average (16.3) in the US market. The company hasn't stretched its balance sheet, and earnings growth was good last year. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue. What we know for sure is that investors are becoming less uncomfortable about Community West Bancshares's prospects, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 6.6 to 8.7 over the last month. If you like to buy stocks that could be turnaround opportunities, then this one might be a candidate; but if you're more sensitive to price, then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. Although we don't have analyst forecasts shareholders might want to examine this detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

You might be able to find a better buy than Community West Bancshares. If you want a selection of possible winners, check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a P/E below 20 (but have proven they can grow earnings).

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. 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. Thank you for reading.