North Star Investment Management Corp. Purchases 23,919 Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 24.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 123,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,919 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $3,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $36.06 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $885.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.42, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.96. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.73.

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

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 20.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BBSI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.