Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Update

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 399,800 shares, a decrease of 8.9% from the August 15th total of 438,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 170,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Sidoti downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Barrett Business Services from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $36.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 21,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,898. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $966.87 million, a PE ratio of 20.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.38. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $21.59 and a one year high of $37.21.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The company had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from Barrett Business Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.58%.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $28,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 276,831 shares in the company, valued at $9,689,085. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $1,231,357 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in Barrett Business Services by 12,014.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 415.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co bought a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at about $118,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Barrett Business Services

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.