Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on BBSI. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price target on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $33.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.88. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $810.48 million, a PE ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.96.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $307.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Barrett Business Services will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $970,445.16. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Gary Kramer bought 8,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.89 per share, for a total transaction of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,841,458.89. This trade represents a 2.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 152.6% during the fourth quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.