TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of TrueBlue from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 price objective on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TrueBlue presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.75.

TrueBlue Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TBI opened at $5.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $171.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.16 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $4.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. TrueBlue has a 12 month low of $3.18 and a 12 month high of $7.78.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.45) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $398.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.51 million. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 3.25% and a negative return on equity of 7.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TrueBlue will post -0.09 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at TrueBlue

In other news, CFO Carl Schweihs purchased 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.72 per share, for a total transaction of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,075,336.68. This trade represents a 4.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Taryn R. Owen purchased 20,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,948.53. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 8.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TrueBlue

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 601.2% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new position in shares of TrueBlue during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of TrueBlue during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in shares of TrueBlue during the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares in the last quarter. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.