Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Barrett Business Services an average rating of "Moderate Buy" based on five brokerages, with a twelve‑month average price target of $41.50 and mixed individual ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• Insider activity shows CEO Gary Kramer bought 8,370 shares at ~$26.89 (increasing his stake to 328,801 shares) while an EVP sold 1,803 shares; corporate insiders hold 4.10% and institutional investors own about 86.76% of the stock.
• Barrett recently reported Q results with EPS of $0.64 (meeting estimates) and revenue up 5.3% year‑over‑year; the stock trades near $29.36, and the company pays a $0.08 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield).

Shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.50.

BBSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barrington Research lowered their price objective on shares of Barrett Business Services from $46.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Barrett Business Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Barrett Business Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Mkm dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, CJS Securities raised shares of Barrett Business Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Gary Kramer purchased 8,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.89 per share, with a total value of $225,069.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 328,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,841,458.89. The trade was a 2.61% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Barrett Business Services

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BBSI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Barrett Business Services by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,219 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth $3,747,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Barrett Business Services during the 1st quarter worth $1,732,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services by 71.8% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,778 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 4,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Barrett Business Services Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Barrett Business Services stock opened at $29.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.93. Barrett Business Services has a twelve month low of $25.33 and a twelve month high of $49.65. The stock has a market cap of $739.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.02.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The business services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Barrett Business Services will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Barrett Business Services's payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

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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