Barrett Business Services’ (BBSI) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $46.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. CJS Securities raised shares of Barrett Business Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

Barrett Business Services Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of BBSI opened at $38.21 on Monday. Barrett Business Services has a 52-week low of $33.01 and a 52-week high of $49.65. The company has a market capitalization of $978.94 million, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The business services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.02). Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $318.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $319.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Joseph Stephen Clabby bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $34.83 per share, for a total transaction of $34,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 15,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,068.53. This trade represents a 6.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trigran Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,531,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at $454,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 1,176.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 123,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,484,000 after purchasing an additional 114,051 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 191.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 10,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 6,958 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Barrett Business Services by 141.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 17,117 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.