TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $398.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $390.51 million. TrueBlue had a negative return on equity of 7.13% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.

Here are the key takeaways from TrueBlue’s conference call:

• TrueBlue delivered revenue of $399 million (+8% YoY; organic +7%), with PeopleReady up 19% and skilled/energy work more than doubling—skilled businesses are approaching a third of staffing revenue.
• Management highlighted AI and proprietary platforms (JobStack, Affinix, StaffTrack) driving recruiter efficiency, higher fill rates and new demand from data-center power projects, with roughly one-third of active energy projects tied to data centers.
• Operating discipline showed through: SG&A fell ~8% while revenue grew 8%, and the company expects sequential gross-margin expansion and improved profitability in Q2 driven by cost actions and operating leverage.
• Gross margin dropped to 19.8% from 23.3% YoY, largely due to the non-repeat of prior-year favorable workers’ compensation reserve development and a revenue mix shift toward lower-margin energy work with pass-through travel costs.
• TrueBlue reported a net loss of $20 million (includes a $4M non-cash goodwill impairment), finished Q1 with $24M cash and $74M debt (total liquidity $60M), and plans to prioritize debt paydown over share buybacks until free cash flow improves.

TrueBlue Stock Performance

Shares of TBI stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.22. The company had a trading volume of 204,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,840. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.65. TrueBlue has a 52-week low of $3.18 and a 52-week high of $7.78. The stock has a market cap of $188.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.51, a PEG ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TBI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised TrueBlue from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 target price on shares of TrueBlue in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.75.

Insider Activity at TrueBlue

In related news, CEO Taryn R. Owen purchased 20,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,948.53. This trade represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs purchased 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.72 per share, with a total value of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,336.68. This trade represents a 4.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of TrueBlue by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 32,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 10,095 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in TrueBlue during the third quarter worth $252,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its position in TrueBlue by 20.9% in the second quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 26,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in TrueBlue in the second quarter worth $130,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in TrueBlue by 11.4% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the period. 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.