Ceejay Finance (530789)

Score breakdown: P/E: 3/3 · ROCE: 0/2 · Growth: 2/2 · Dividend: 0/1

Key Financials

Strengths

• Trades below book value at P/B 0.98 (Book Value ₹225.14) with a low P/E of 7.88.
• Reported profit growth of 47.37%, with latest quarter net margin of ~28% (₹2 Cr profit on ₹7 Cr sales).
• Piotroski F-Score of 6/9 indicates reasonable financial health.
• Positive returns on equity and capital employed: ROE 9.79% and ROCE 11.71%.

Concerns

• Sales growth is negative at -6.43%, making the high profit growth look fragile or possibly from one-off items or lower provisions.
• ROE of 9.79% is modest and does not suggest a strong competitive moat for a small NBFC.
• Debt/Equity is not available; for a lending business, leverage and asset quality are critical unknowns.
• Dividend yield is low at 0.73%, offering little income support while waiting for value to unlock.

AI Analysis

Let me begin with the balance sheet: Ceejay Finance sells at ₹220.55, marginally below book value of ₹225.14, and at 7.88 times earnings. That sounds like the sort of margin of safety Graham would notice. But a low price is not the same as a bargain. This is a tiny NBFC with a market cap of just ₹76 crore. Its return on equity is 9.79% and ROCE 11.71%—adequate, but hardly a franchise. The moat, if any, is narrow; small finance lenders are price-takers with limited pricing power. The top line is shrinking: sales growth -6.43%. Yet reported profit jumped 47.37%, and the latest quarter shows ₹2 crore profit on ₹7 crore revenue—about a 28% margin. In an NBFC, that kind of profit leap deserves skepticism: Is it a one-off recovery, lower provisioning, or genuine operational leverage? The Piotroski score of 6/9 is supportive but not compelling. The dividend yield is 0.73%, so the shareholder is not being paid to wait. Without debt-equity data, I cannot judge the capital structure, which is the lifeblood of a lending business. I therefore treat this as a small asset play—a company trading near book with modest returns and uncertain growth. If the loan book is sound and profits are maintained, the low valuation offers upside. But I require evidence of stable earnings, not a single quarter. I would keep position size tiny and watch leverage, asset quality, and whether sales stop falling. Value, in Graham's sense, must be measurable; here the margin is thin.

Data from BSE/NSE filings. AI analysis is for educational purposes only — not investment advice. Scoring methodology · Disclaimer