Barrett Business Services’ (BBSI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reissued their outperform rating on shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) in a report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $49.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $41.90 on Tuesday. Barrett Business Services has a twelve month low of $35.81 and a twelve month high of $49.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.96.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.95 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 4.49%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is 15.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.64, for a total value of $145,968.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,248.64. The trade was a 9.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary Kramer sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.35, for a total value of $3,868,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 287,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,878,384. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,438 shares of company stock valued at $5,296,983 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 528,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,737,000 after buying an additional 10,627 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC bought a new position in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter worth $14,792,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the first quarter worth $12,999,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 12.0% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 187,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,721,000 after purchasing an additional 20,169 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 22.8% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 184,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,599,000 after purchasing an additional 34,297 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.