Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Receives $41.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.50.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barrington Research cut their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other news, CEO Gary Kramer acquired 8,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.89 per share, for a total transaction of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,841,458.89. This represents a 2.61% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total value of $51,710.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 123,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 23,919 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $708,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 479.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at $848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BBSI opened at $30.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $748.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.31 and a 200-day moving average of $34.70. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.64. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 4.39%.The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio is 15.31%.

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.