James Potts Sells 3,487 Shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) EVP James Potts sold 3,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.55, for a total value of $130,936.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 35,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,333,963.75. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

BBSI stock opened at $37.39 on Thursday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $918.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.79.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is 20.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the first quarter worth approximately $8,316,000. Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 62.3% during the 4th quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,536,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.