GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $2.40 Million Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 67,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,401,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned 0.28% of Barrett Business Services at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $71,118,000 after acquiring an additional 13,331 shares in the last quarter. Private Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $36,187,000 after purchasing an additional 12,117 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 31.6% during 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 period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,749,000 after purchasing an additional 109,069 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,295,000 after purchasing an additional 25,221 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BBSI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,701,168.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233 in the last 90 days. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $32.24 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.88. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.33 and a 52 week high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $781.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $319.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $321.55 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. On average, analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

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.