Barrett Business Services' (BBSI) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Barrington Research

Key Points

• Barrington Research reaffirmed its "Outperform" rating on Barrett Business Services and set a $41.00 price target, implying roughly a 34.6% upside from the recent share price.
• Analyst views are mixed but lean positive: MarketBeat shows a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $41.50, while individual firms range from Strong Buy to Strong Sell and some have cut targets recently.
• Insiders and institutions are active—CEO Gary Kramer bought 8,370 shares at about $26.89 increasing his stake, and institutional ownership is high (~86.8%) with recent new or enlarged positions from firms like Millennium and Jane Street.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by Barrington Research in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $41.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Barrington Research's price target would indicate a potential upside of 34.56% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on BBSI. Zacks Research lowered shares of Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price target on Barrett Business Services from $54.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Barrett Business Services currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

Barrett Business Services Price Performance

Barrett Business Services stock opened at $30.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $748.34 million, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. Barrett Business Services has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.31 and its 200 day moving average is $34.56.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.43 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 23.67% and a net margin of 4.39%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Barrett Business Services will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Barrett Business Services

In other Barrett Business Services news, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.89 per share, with a total value of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 328,801 shares in the company, valued at $8,841,458.89. The trade was a 2.61% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James R. Potts sold 1,803 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.68, for a total transaction of $51,710.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,445.16. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the first quarter worth $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,732,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 71.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Barrett Business Services by 40.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 37,923 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 10,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

About Barrett Business Services

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.

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