Wall Street Zen Upgrades TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) to “Hold”

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

TBI has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of TrueBlue from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 target price on TrueBlue in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $5.75.

TrueBlue Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE TBI opened at $3.99 on Friday. TrueBlue has a 52-week low of $3.18 and a 52-week high of $7.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.87. The stock has a market cap of $120.00 million, a PE ratio of -2.50, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.47.

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported ($0.25) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $413.31 million. TrueBlue had a negative return on equity of 6.87% and a negative net margin of 2.97%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TrueBlue will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Taryn R. Owen acquired 20,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,948.53. The trade was a 2.64% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs bought 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.72 per share, with a total value of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 289,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,075,336.68. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of TrueBlue

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its position in TrueBlue by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 442,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,012,000 after purchasing an additional 166,660 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in TrueBlue in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in TrueBlue by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 122,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of TrueBlue by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TrueBlue Company Profile

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.