Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Invests $7.80 Million in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 219,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,804,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake 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 valued at $31,534,000 after purchasing an additional 208,865 shares during the period. Trigran Investments Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $23,491,000 after purchasing an additional 249,052 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 102.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 168,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,913,000 after purchasing an additional 85,230 shares in the last quarter. Crown Advisors Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter worth $2,131,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter worth $2,401,000. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barrett Business Services news, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,330. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total transaction of $454,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.80% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI opened at $33.80 on Wednesday. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.33 and a twelve month high of $49.65. The company has a market capitalization of $819.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.63.

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

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Roth Capital lowered Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Barrett Business Services 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.