Brokerages Set Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Price Target at $41.50

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BBSI. 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. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

BBSI stock opened at $37.43 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $919.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.95. Barrett Business Services has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $49.65.

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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $306.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 20.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. This represents a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,331 shares during the period. Private Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Barrett Business Services by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Capital Management LLC now owns 999,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,187,000 after purchasing an additional 12,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $31,534,000 after buying an additional 208,865 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 821,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,749,000 after buying an additional 109,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 661,181 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,295,000 after buying an additional 25,221 shares during the period. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.