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Are Investors Undervaluing Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) 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.

Of these, perhaps no stock market trend is more popular than value investing, which is a strategy that has proven to be successful in all sorts of market environments. Value investors use a variety of methods, including tried-and-true valuation metrics, to find these stocks.

On top of the Zacks Rank, investors can also look at our innovative Style Scores system to find stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will want to focus on the "Value" category. Stocks with high Zacks Ranks and "A" grades for Value will be some of the highest-quality value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Sierra Bancorp (BSRR - Free Report) . BSRR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock holds a P/E ratio of 10.46, while its industry has an average P/E of 16.09. Over the last 12 months, BSRR's Forward P/E has been as high as 11.19 and as low as 8.46, with a median of 9.90.

Another valuation metric that we should highlight is BSRR's P/B ratio of 1.15. The P/B ratio is used to compare a stock's market value with its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 2.12. Within the past 52 weeks, BSRR's P/B has been as high as 1.27 and as low as 0.96, with a median of 1.09.

Value investors also love the P/S ratio, which is calculated by simply dividing a stock's price with the company's sales. This is a popular metric because sales are harder to manipulate on an income statement, so they are often considered a better performance indicator. BSRR has a P/S ratio of 2.96. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 3.3.

Finally, investors should note that BSRR has a P/CF ratio of 7.95. This metric focuses on a firm's operating cash flow and is often used to find stocks that are undervalued based on the strength of their cash outlook. BSRR's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 17.21. BSRR's P/CF has been as high as 9.58 and as low as 6.58, with a median of 7.90, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Sierra Bancorp's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, BSRR looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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