Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Separately, Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 2.1%

Barrett Business Services stock opened at $48.14 on Friday. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $34.43 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.51.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $307.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $299.95 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.49% and a return on equity of 24.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total transaction of $602,202.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 94,692 shares in the company, valued at $4,509,233.04. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas B. Cusick sold 3,064 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.64, for a total transaction of $145,968.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,323,248.64. This represents a 9.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,417 shares of company stock valued at $5,496,361. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 0.6% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 38,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. CWC Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.5% during the second quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 11,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 6,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 2.9% during the second quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 10,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1.4% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 23,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after buying an additional 332 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 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.