Aristides Capital LLC Boosts Holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI)

Aristides Capital LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) by 282.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,161 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in Barrett Business Services were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BBSI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Barrett Business Services by 281.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 867,708 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,435,000 after buying an additional 640,508 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Barrett Business Services by 299.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 798,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,167,000 after buying an additional 598,567 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $17,870,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 155.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 535,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,561,000 after acquiring an additional 326,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Barrett Business Services by 259.8% during the second quarter. Pacific Ridge Capital Partners LLC now owns 378,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,413,000 after purchasing an additional 273,516 shares in the last quarter. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sidoti downgraded Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barrington Research increased their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

BBSI opened at $37.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.25. The firm has a market cap of $981.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.59 and a 1 year high of $37.81.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.13 million. Barrett Business Services had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 25.69%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Barrett Business Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Barrett Business Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.58%.

Insider Activity at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $28,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 276,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,689,085. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 35,133 shares of company stock worth $1,231,357 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Barrett Business Services Company Profile

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.