TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Hold Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 target price on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.75.

TrueBlue Price Performance

NYSE TBI traded up $0.10 on Monday, reaching $4.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 57,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,836. The firm has a market cap of $141.02 million, a PE ratio of -2.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.68. TrueBlue has a 52 week low of $3.18 and a 52 week high of $7.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $413.31 million. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 6.87%. Sell-side analysts expect that TrueBlue will post 0.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Taryn R. Owen acquired 20,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.79 per share, with a total value of $77,316.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 791,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,000,948.53. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carl Schweihs acquired 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.72 per share, for a total transaction of $46,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of TrueBlue

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in TrueBlue by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 32,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 10,095 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in TrueBlue during the second quarter worth about $130,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its position in shares of TrueBlue by 11.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TrueBlue during the second quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of TrueBlue by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares in the last quarter. 97.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About TrueBlue

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.