Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $39.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.11. Barrett Business Services has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $981.66 million, a PE ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.95.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 131.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.