Is Barrett Business Services (BBSI) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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.

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 to watch right now is Barrett Business Services (BBSI). BBSI is currently holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) and a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 12.55 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 22.77. Over the past 52 weeks, BBSI's Forward P/E has been as high as 17.72 and as low as -150.87, with a median of 12.60.

We also note that BBSI holds a PEG ratio of 0.90. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. BBSI's industry has an average PEG of 2.14 right now. Over the past 52 weeks, BBSI's PEG has been as high as 1.48 and as low as -12.57, with a median of 1.

Value investors also use the P/S ratio. The P/S ratio is is calculated as price divided by sales. This is a prefered metric because revenue can't really be manipulated, so sales are often a truer performance indicator. BBSI has a P/S ratio of 0.62. This compares to its industry's average P/S of 1.36.

Finally, we should also recognize that BBSI has a P/CF ratio of 12.49. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. BBSI's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 15.98. BBSI's P/CF has been as high as 16.24 and as low as 10.22, with a median of 11.70, all within the past year.

Investors could also keep in mind Brink's (BCO), an Outsourcing stock with a Zacks Rank of # 2 (Buy) and Value grade of A.

Brink's also has a P/B ratio of 8.55 compared to its industry's price-to-book ratio of 13.62. Over the past year, its P/B ratio has been as high as 14.16, as low as 6.33, with a median of 8.28.

These are just a handful of the figures considered in Barrett Business Services and Brink's's great Value grade. Still, they help show that the stock is likely being undervalued at the moment. Add this to the strength of its earnings outlook, and we can clearly see that BBSI and BCO is an impressive value stock right now.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.