Cullen Capital Management LLC Takes $598,000 Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Cullen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $72,793,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth about $15,984,000. Tieton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth about $11,345,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the first quarter worth about $8,316,000. Finally, Trigran Investments Inc. raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In related news, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,330. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. This trade represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. Company insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of BBSI opened at $33.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $819.31 million, a P/E ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.33 and a 12-month high of $49.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.63.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 2.77%.The company had revenue of $319.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $321.55 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Roth Capital downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Barrett Business Services Profile

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.