Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) EVP James Potts Sells 1,803 Shares of Stock

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) EVP James Potts sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,445.16. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 1.1%

BBSI traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.46. The company had a trading volume of 6,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,110. The company has a market capitalization of $717.27 million, a PE ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.02. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $49.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.82.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 4.39%.The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on BBSI shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. CJS Securities raised shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Barrington Research dropped their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the first quarter worth approximately $1,732,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter worth $454,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 154,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc (NASDAQ: BBSI) is a professional employer organization (PEO) headquartered in Northridge, California. Founded in 1971 by Barrett K. Levesque, the company provides comprehensive human resources outsourcing solutions to small and mid-sized businesses. Through its consultative model, Barrett Business Services helps clients streamline administrative processes, mitigate regulatory risk and focus on core operations.

The company’s core offerings include payroll administration, employee benefits management, workers’ compensation and risk management services.