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Are Investors Undervaluing Barrett Business Services (BBSI) Right Now?

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While the proven Zacks Rank places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find strong stocks, we also know that investors tend to develop their own individual strategies. With this in mind, we are always looking at value, growth, and momentum trends to discover great companies.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use fundamental analysis and traditional valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are being undervalued by the market at large.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

One company value investors might notice is Barrett Business Services (BBSI - Free Report) . BBSI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as an A grade for Value. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 13.70. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.30. Over the past 52 weeks, BBSI's Forward P/E has been as high as 18.20 and as low as -150.87, with a median of 15.99.

BBSI is also sporting a PEG ratio of 1.14. This figure is similar to the commonly-used P/E ratio, with the PEG ratio also factoring in a company's expected earnings growth rate. BBSI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 2.39. Over the last 12 months, BBSI's PEG has been as high as 1.52 and as low as -12.57, with a median of 1.33.

Finally, investors will want to recognize that BBSI has a P/CF ratio of 12.93. This data point considers a firm's operating cash flow and is frequently used to find companies that are undervalued when considering their solid cash outlook. BBSI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 17.85. Over the past 52 weeks, BBSI's P/CF has been as high as 16.24 and as low as 10.22, with a median of 13.39.

Brink's (BCO - Free Report) may be another strong Outsourcing stock to add to your shortlist. BCO is a # 2 (Buy) stock with a Value grade of A.

Additionally, Brink's has a P/B ratio of 12.48 while its industry's price-to-book ratio sits at 11.78. For BCO, this valuation metric has been as high as 17.80, as low as 10.50, with a median of 12.98 over the past year.

These figures are just a handful of the metrics value investors tend to look at, but they help show that Barrett Business Services and Brink's are likely being undervalued right now. Considering this, as well as the strength of its earnings outlook, BBSI and BCO feels like a great value stock at the moment.


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Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) - free report >>

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