Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Receives $41.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $41.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on BBSI shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Barrett Business Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Roth Capital downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barrington Research set a $44.00 target price on Barrett Business Services in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, Director Anthony Meeker sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 3,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $132,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,035 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,330. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,779 shares of company stock worth $786,233. 4.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Barrett Business Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 152.6% in the fourth quarter. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 270.2% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI stock opened at $34.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $833.86 million, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.55. Barrett Business Services has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The business services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $319.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $321.55 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 20.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 4th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is 23.53%.

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.