Hard to believe, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA, +0.63%  could fall by another 1,000 to 5,000 points and still not be "cheap" compared with long-term stock-valuation measures.

That's the stark conclusion from an analysis comparing current stock prices to underlying measures such as per-share revenue, earnings and corporate net worth.

And it suggests that even if we are now overdue for a short-term bounce or rally of some kind, buying heavily into the latest sell-off isn't the kind of one-way bet that value investors crave.

Stocks are certainly much cheaper than they were a few weeks ago. After the worst start to a new year in Wall Street history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 10% since Jan. 1.