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

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

BBSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research lowered Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Roth Capital cut Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price target on Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,330. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth $72,793,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 13,331 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings 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 worth $31,534,000 after acquiring an additional 208,865 shares during the period. Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 249,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,295,000 after acquiring an additional 25,221 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Barrett Business Services stock opened at $32.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.89. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $45.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $790.47 million, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.53%.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc (NASDAQ:BBSI) provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company combines professional employer organization (PEO) services with staffing and recruiting capabilities, allowing clients to outsource or supplement key human resources and administrative functions.

Its services include payroll administration, employee benefits support, workers’ compensation management, human resources guidance, workplace safety and risk management, and regulatory compliance assistance.