Brokerages Set Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) PT at $41.50

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.50.

BBSI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price target on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $33.25 on Thursday. Barrett Business Services has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $816.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.78.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $307.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,118,000 after buying an additional 13,331 shares during the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,187,000 after acquiring an additional 12,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake 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 buying an additional 208,865 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake 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 worth $19,295,000 after buying an additional 25,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.