Barrington Research Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Barrington Research in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $46.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Barrington Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.36% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. CJS Securities upgraded Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.00.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $37.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $955.37 million, a PE ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $33.01 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $318.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.27 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby purchased 1,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $34.83 per share, for a total transaction of $34,830.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,068.53. This trade represents a 6.95% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBSI. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in 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 valued at $84,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,715 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Trigran Investments Inc. grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 121.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trigran Investments Inc. now owns 399,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,714,000 after purchasing an additional 219,049 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 193,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,994,000 after purchasing an additional 63,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 177,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,876,000 after purchasing an additional 43,305 shares in the last quarter. 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.