Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 0.1 %

BBSI stock opened at $40.45 on Thursday. Barrett Business Services has a 12-month low of $30.68 and a 12-month high of $44.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.35 and its 200 day moving average is $41.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.02.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.09. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 25.28% and a net margin of 4.55%. The business had revenue of $292.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.91 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBSI. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 26.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 10.0% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 3,939.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 4,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.