Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in TrueBlue, Inc. (NYSE:TBI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 56,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $478,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of TrueBlue as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,523,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,795,000 after purchasing an additional 441,108 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in TrueBlue in the 4th quarter worth about $1,980,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in TrueBlue in the 4th quarter worth about $978,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of TrueBlue by 99.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,836,000 after purchasing an additional 109,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 189.4% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 147,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 96,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.15% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at TrueBlue

In other TrueBlue news, CEO Taryn R. Owen bought 12,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.94 per share, with a total value of $75,645.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 414,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,464,696.08. This trade represents a 3.17 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $62,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 166,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,040,943.75. This represents a 6.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 25,235 shares of company stock valued at $151,271. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TrueBlue Stock Performance

Shares of TrueBlue stock opened at $4.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $126.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. TrueBlue, Inc. has a twelve month low of $3.45 and a twelve month high of $12.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $4.96 and its 200 day moving average is $6.72.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The business services provider reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.23) by ($0.17). TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 8.02% and a negative return on equity of 3.90%. The company had revenue of $370.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $362.37 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that TrueBlue, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides specialized workforce solutions in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Puerto Rico. It operates through three segments: PeopleReady, PeopleManagement, and PeopleScout. The company PeopleReady segment provides general, industrial, and skilled trade contingent staffing services for construction, transportation, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and renewable energy industries.