Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock Price Up 6.3% – Should You Buy?

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) traded up 6.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.82 and last traded at $40.8850. 8,352 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average session volume of 241,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 3.4%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.86. The company has a market cap of $994.34 million, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.95.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The company had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.04) EPS. Barrett Business Services’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director owned 44,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,701,168.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% during the 4th quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 131.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.