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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.

Of these, value investing is easily one of the most popular ways to find great stocks in any market environment. Value investors rely on traditional forms of analysis on key valuation metrics to find stocks that they believe are undervalued, leaving room for profits.

In addition to the Zacks Rank, investors looking for stocks with specific traits can utilize our Style Scores system. Of course, value investors will be most interested in the system's "Value" category. Stocks with "A" grades for Value and high Zacks Ranks are among the best value stocks available at any given moment.

One company to watch right now is Barrett Business Services (BBSI - Free Report) . BBSI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.11. This compares to its industry's average Forward P/E of 20.23. Over the past 52 weeks, BBSI's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.31 and as low as 10.64, with a median of 12.81.

Investors should also note that BBSI holds a PEG ratio of 1.08. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. BBSI's PEG compares to its industry's average PEG of 1.94. BBSI's PEG has been as high as 1.17 and as low as 0.76, with a median of 0.92, all within the past year.

We should also highlight that BBSI has a P/B ratio of 4.39. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks solid versus its industry's average P/B of 12.91. Over the past 12 months, BBSI's P/B has been as high as 4.47 and as low as 3.08, with a median of 3.51.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by 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. BBSI has a P/S ratio of 0.74. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.12.

Finally, our model also underscores that BBSI has a P/CF ratio of 14.01. 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. BBSI's P/CF compares to its industry's average P/CF of 16.31. BBSI's P/CF has been as high as 14.77 and as low as 10.11, with a median of 11.81, all within the past year.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in Barrett Business Services'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, BBSI looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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