Trigran Investments Inc. Raises Position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Trigran Investments Inc. raised its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 62.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 648,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 249,052 shares during the quarter. Barrett Business Services comprises 4.6% of Trigran Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Trigran Investments Inc.’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $23,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BBSI. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Tripletail Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Stock Performance

Shares of BBSI opened at $34.17 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $839.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.85 and a 200 day moving average of $32.83. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $49.65.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The business services provider reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $307.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.68 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 22.89% and a net margin of 3.24%.Barrett Business Services’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.78%.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 33,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Barrett Business Services from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of Barrett Business Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research raised Barrett Business Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price target on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services 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.