Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 461,500 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the October 15th total of 487,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 126,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 34,288 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $1,201,794.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 242,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,501,132.15. The trade was a 12.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BBSI. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 12,014.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 936 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Barrington Research boosted their price target on Barrett Business Services from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock opened at $41.52 on Monday. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $26.60 and a 1-year high of $43.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.39.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.89%.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.