For example, Goldman was the first major financial name to come out and say that its top executives would not receive bonuses for their performance in 2008. While it may be a largely symbolic gesture, since CEO Lloyd Blankfein probably won't go hungry without his bonus, the decision was well-received as a good-faith offering to shareholders.

Ahead of the company's fourth-quarter earnings report, scheduled for mid-December, many analysts are warning that Goldman could report its first-ever quarterly loss since going public. The shares are currently trading sub-IPO levels, which could indicate that the market has already priced in that bleak news. However, with those warnings in mind, skeptical investors may want to wait until after that closely watched report to pull the trigger on a GS investment.

On the charts, keep an eye on potential technical support at the $50 level. This is an equity that has previously been very respectful of round-number regions, so any potential post-earnings pullback could exhaust itself here. (It's worth noting that round numbers, along with other technical support and resistance areas, are less likely to exert their influence during periods of overwhelming headwinds in the sector.)

From a sentiment perspective, it's interesting to note that GS has garnered fewer Buy ratings than its sector peer Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), which is currently shouldering the burden of its Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) purchases. Zacks reports that Goldman has garnered just five Buy or better ratings, compared to seven for BAC. As the synergies -- or lack thereof -- from BAC's fixer-upper acquisitions begin to emerge more clearly, GS could once again benefit from favorable comparisons.

I won't lie; the Goldman Sachs pick is not for the faint of heart. However, more adventurous investors may find no better opportunity to snap up the shares at a bargain price. With an incredibly slim price/earnings ratio of 4.7 as of November 30 -- compared to its five-year average p/e of 12.0 -- you'd be hard-pressed to find GS at a more affordable price.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.