Hsbc Holdings PLC Takes $629,000 Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 21,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in Barrett Business Services by 312.4% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 113,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 86,191 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 24.1% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 123,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,599,000 after acquiring an additional 23,919 shares in the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth $203,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth $708,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 479.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 9,120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 2.5%

BBSI stock opened at $39.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.11. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.33 and a 12-month high of $49.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $981.66 million, a PE ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.95.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.The business had revenue of $307.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.68 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of Barrett Business Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $454,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 44,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,701,168.25. The trade was a 21.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total transaction of $132,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,217,330. The trade was a 9.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,779 shares of company stock valued at $786,233 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

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.