Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research cut Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of 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. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

BBSI opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $702.58 million, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.03. 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 50-day moving average of $35.59 and a 200 day moving average of $39.40.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.39% and a return on equity of 23.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 15.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 821,045.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 418,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,562,000 after purchasing an additional 418,733 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 20.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,901,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,271,000 after purchasing an additional 324,715 shares during the period. Trigran Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its position 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 buying an additional 208,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the second quarter valued at $6,155,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.