Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Update

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 849,756 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the February 26th total of 707,540 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 370,346 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.89 per share, for a total transaction of $225,069.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 328,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,841,458.89. The trade was a 2.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 13,331 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 20.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,901,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $84,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,715 shares during the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,187,000 after purchasing an additional 12,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 870,863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in 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 valued at $29,749,000 after purchasing an additional 109,069 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $30.03 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.97 and a 200 day moving average of $36.68. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $756.76 million, a PE ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.03.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 4.39%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. CJS Securities raised shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price target on Barrett Business Services from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

About Barrett Business Services

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.