Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Barrington Research lowered their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $41.00. The stock had previously closed at $31.47, but opened at $28.30. Barrington Research currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Barrett Business Services shares last traded at $26.6690, with a volume of 148,885 shares.

Several other research analysts have also commented on BBSI. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Roth Mkm dropped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.50.

More Barrett Business Services News

Here are the key news stories impacting Barrett Business Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 and full‑year results showed strength (record sales volume and solid full‑year metrics); EPS was roughly in line with consensus, supporting the upbeat tone from management. BBSI Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts trimmed price targets but kept bullish ratings: Barrington lowered its PT to $41 (outperform) and Roth MKM lowered its PT to $42 (buy) — both still imply ~45–50% upside vs. current levels, which supports further upside potential. Benzinga PT Coverage Roth MKM Price Target Note
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 (ex‑dividend March 13), adding a modest income component that can support investor demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media write‑ups digging into key metrics (e.g., Zacks review) give investors detail on what drove the quarter but don’t substantially change the verdict — useful for judging sustainability. Compared to Estimates, Barrett (BBSI) Q4 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics
• Neutral Sentiment: Some short‑interest data feeds show inconsistent/zero values for late‑February (likely reporting errors); treat those data points cautiously until exchanges reconcile filings.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest reportedly rose earlier in February to ~717,409 shares (about 2.9% of float) with a short‑interest ratio ~3.3 days, signaling increased bearish bets that can add selling pressure or volatility.
• Negative Sentiment: At least one headline highlighted that Barrett missed Q4 sales expectations, a reminder that revenue execution is under scrutiny and could cap multiple expansion until clear momentum resumes. Barrett (NASDAQ:BBSI) Misses Q4 CY2025 Sales Expectations

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.0% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 45,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,036 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 49,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% in the fourth 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. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $711.47 million, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.64.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

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.