Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $32.84 and traded as high as $39.26. Barrett Business Services shares last traded at $38.46, with a volume of 210,756 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BBSI. Barrington Research restated 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 shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $944.58 million, a PE ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $33.44 and its 200-day moving average is $32.84.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is presently 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% in the 4th quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 131.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

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.