Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $33.00 and traded as high as $39.90. Barrett Business Services shares last traded at $39.79, with a volume of 142,792 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.00. The firm has a market cap of $977.24 million, a PE ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.95.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.89%. The firm had revenue of $307.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBSI. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 49,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 1.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 37,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 34,883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.