Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Short Interest Down 8.9% in August

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 399,800 shares, a decrease of 8.9% from the August 15th total of 438,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 170,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on BBSI shares. Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Barrett Business Services from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Sidoti lowered Barrett Business Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Barrett Business Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer sold 34,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $1,201,794.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 242,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,501,132.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 35,133 shares of company stock valued at $1,231,357 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barrett Business Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 12,014.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 841 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 300.0% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 936 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 415.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 300.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services in the second quarter valued at about $118,000. 86.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 0.2 %

BBSI traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.90. The company had a trading volume of 36,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,072. Barrett Business Services has a 1 year low of $21.59 and a 1 year high of $37.32. The company has a market cap of $965.56 million, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.80.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 4.50%. The firm had revenue of $279.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Barrett Business Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Barrett Business Services will post 1.99 EPS for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This is a positive change from Barrett Business Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Barrett Business Services’s payout ratio is currently 17.58%.

About Barrett Business Services

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.