Warren Buffett is selling Bank of America. Maybe you should buy it.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has recently been selling down some of its long-held stake in Bank of America. You might consider buying.

Over the past month, Bank of America has underperformed the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index, down about 4% versus a roughly 1.5% drop for the index. Given Buffett’s lifetime record, it would be hard to fault someone inclined to follow his lead on a trade. But Berkshire’s motives are opaque. And as of mid-August, it still held roughly 12% of Bank of America’s shares outstanding, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It has also already earned billions of dollars on the investment.

What is good for Berkshire over a decade-plus time horizon isn’t necessarily the same as what might work for other investors in the quarters ahead. In fact, a close look at Bank of America suggests that, for now, recent events might actually bolster the case for the bank as one of the stronger bets among lenders in the nearer-term future.

When it comes to the recession fears that have at times spooked the market lately, Bank of America might be among the lenders better positioned for such a scenario. In the Federal Reserve’s most recent stress test of a severe economic downturn, BofA’s loan losses were 5.5% of average balances, well below the 7.1% average across the 31 large banks examined.

A deep recession remains an unlikely scenario at this point. What is almost certain, however, is that the Fed is poised to begin cutting interest rates. That is going to take a bite out of many banks’ interest earnings. Loans priced off benchmark rates begin producing less interest income, while deposit pricing is slower to adjust.

Bank of America is no exception. If the Fed were to make three quarter-point cuts before the end of the year, the bank expects its quarterly net interest income would be lower by roughly $225 million in the fourth quarter from the second quarter.

However, Bank of America has some strong offsets. For one, the vast bond portfolio that has been a sore spot for the bank with some investors since last year turns into a potential relative advantage as rates are cut. Not only do those older, low-yielding bonds likely rise in value, but the big tallies of securities that mature each quarter will continue to provide a sizable uplift to net interest income next year as that money is redeployed at present yields.

That, plus the continuing maturation of fixed-rate loans such as auto loans and home mortgages, will offset the impact of rate cuts by boosting net interest income by roughly $300 million in the fourth quarter from the second, according to the bank’s projections.

And there are a couple more spring-loaded boosts to net interest income beyond that. For instance, the roll-off of cash-flow swap hedges designed to protect against falling interest rates could start to boost net interest income in the second half of next year, the bank has said.

The bottom line of all of this is that Bank of America’s net interest income is expected to grow 5% in 2025, versus much smaller increases or declines for megabank peers Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, according to analyst projections compiled by Visible Alpha.

With the bank having flagged these tailwinds, the market might be pricing in some of this trajectory. But there is enough uncertainty about the path of interest rates that there might still be upside in BofA’s relative performance, such as if the Fed cut more aggressively than currently envisioned.

On top of that, there is the general unknown of what will happen with other variables such as loan growth and Wall Street deal making. BofA’s investment-banking revenue these days contributes relatively more to its total revenue than is the case for peers such as Citigroup and JPMorgan. So, if as anticipated lower rates help spur more corporate activity, then Bank of America stands ready to be a top beneficiary.

Looking at valuation, there might be room for Bank of America to outgrow expectations. With the recent price drop, Bank of America is now trading under 11 times 2025 earnings versus over 11 for S&P 500 banks overall, according to FactSet data.

Betting on a bank stock, especially during an election year, isn’t for the faint of heart. There is a lot that can go haywire in credit, or trading, or Washington, that investors can’t foresee. But Berkshire’s selldown might be an opportunity to grab what has the potential to be a standout franchise next year at an attractive price.

Write to Telis Demos at Telis.Demos@wsj.com