TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 price objective on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.75.

TrueBlue Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TBI opened at $4.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $137.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.83, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.68. TrueBlue has a one year low of $3.18 and a one year high of $7.78.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $413.31 million. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 6.87%. Research analysts predict that TrueBlue will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TrueBlue

In other TrueBlue news, CEO Taryn R. Owen purchased 20,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.79 per share, with a total value of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,000,948.53. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs purchased 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.72 per share, with a total value of $46,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,336.68. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TrueBlue

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Azarias Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of TrueBlue by 1.3% during the first quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,001,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,918,000 after buying an additional 13,070 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of TrueBlue by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 442,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after buying an additional 166,660 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of TrueBlue by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 122,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Finally, Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.