North Star Investment Management Corp. Sells 15,919 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

North Star Investment Management Corp. lessened its holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 99,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,919 shares during the quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. owned 0.39% of Barrett Business Services worth $3,600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,901,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $84,271,000 after buying an additional 324,715 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 821,045.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 418,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,562,000 after purchasing an additional 418,733 shares in the last quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 399,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 219,049 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 193,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,994,000 after buying an additional 63,854 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 32.2% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 177,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,876,000 after buying an additional 43,305 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Barrett Business Services stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $31.59. 14,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 234,588. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $775.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $29.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.37.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 4.39%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer bought 8,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.89 per share, for a total transaction of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,841,458.89. This represents a 2.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total value of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Barrett Business Services Company 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.